


We Are Family

by tumblruserpailylove



Category: Glee
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Drunken Shenanigans, Drunkenness, F/F, Gay Pride, Road Trips, Self-Denial, Self-Discovery, Teenage Shenanigans, Unexpected Friendship, this has a sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 11:50:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15630111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumblruserpailylove/pseuds/tumblruserpailylove
Summary: The Glee club gets the chance to raise money over the summer. They have been hired to perform at Cleveland's annual pride festival. Santana is afraid if she goes along everyone will figure out she's gay. She finds unexpected strength in Rachel.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (Just moving my old works from ffnet to here)  
> (I have not re-read or edited any of my old works so sorry if they're horrible)

Santana did not want to be in this room with these people again so soon. They were all well and good during the school year but having to  deal  with them during the summer was not something she had particularly planned on. Especially not Rachel Berry. She could go an entire summer, entire school year, and entire lifetime without having to be stuck in the same room with her. But here she was, in the Berry’s Oscar room, again, this time with absolutely no alcohol to make it easier to stomach.  But when the mass text of an invite came across both her and Brittany’s  phone at the same time, the blonde girl all but begged Santana to go with her saying it could be fun like last time they were at Rachel’s house. Santana doubted it, considering both Mr. Berrys were home, but what Britt wants, Britt gets. The soft spot for the girl was Santana’s greatest weakness.

  
The text had read “Meeting at my house tomorrow at 8 pm. It’s not mandatory but highly suggested you attend especially if you want me to back you up when you are trying to convince Mr. Shue to give you any sort of solo next year in Glee club. See you there!” That alone had made Santana want to wait outside and egg everyone who showed up, but Britt begged so here they were.

Santana had taken place on the very couch she and Sam had made out on during the party on their last visit there only this time she was sitting next to a different blonde, trying to keep her hands to herself and look bored. The looking bored part wasn’t exactly hard, but the former most definitely was. Why did she have to wear those jeans and that low cut top? Why did she have to wash her hair with that damn shampoo she liked so much. It was intoxicating and really distracting.

“Alright people! People listen up!” Rachel’s voice interrupted Santana’s thoughts about Brittany and she just rolled her eyes, though secretly she was thankful. She couldn’t be thinking about taking the blonde off into one of the spare rooms and doing unspeakable things to her.

“As you can see, we are short a few members of the club but I have excused them because they had pre-arranged obligations.  Finn is at football camp, a gift from Kurt’s dad for his birthday.” Kurt rolled his eyes but said nothing. “Mike and Tina have returned to be counselors at Asian camp again this year.” Artie sighed at that. It was how he had lost her last year. Even though he was fairly sure he was over her, it didn’t mean he liked dwelling on that memory. “And Quinn said something about church camp or a retreat or something.”

 

“Get to the point” Puck called out and the group responded with a few nods and soft agreement to the statement. Santana rolled her eyes again. Although she agreed, Puck was so impatient sometimes. Definitely one of the reasons she did not miss him. Oh, and because she was gay, but no one had to know that.

“As I was saying,” Rachel scowled at Puck before her bright cheery smile returned and she looked back at the group assembled before her, “I am glad you could all come because we have been afforded an incredible chance to keep our skills sharp over the summer. I believe that if we want to rank at Nationals and go onto the next round next year we should continue without too much time between performances and practice. This way when school rolls around again we will be more ready than ever for the competition.”

“Rachel, if I may” Kurt piped up, raising a single finger in the air for visual interjection. Everyone glanced at him and he continued without her permission “I am all for performing where ever and whenever, but we all deserve a bit of a break this summer-“

“Preach” Artie said, throwing his hands into the air.

“Besides, I have to work” Sam added quickly, though he never made eye contact with Rachel out of fear of disapproval.

“I understand we all worked hard,” Rachel said quickly, her voice rising over the masses starting to toss in their two cents, “But we have been offered the chance to perform in a venue where thousands would see us. It would be an amazing chance for us to stay sharp, raise a little money for the club, and showcase our best performers-“

“If you say you I am going to throw my shoe at your head” Mercedes quickly piped up. Rachel twisted her face in quick shock, as if she were appalled that Mercedes would think such a thing, though by the look on her face it was obvious that was exactly what she had been thinking.

“Mercedes, we will all have a chance to perform a solo. It is an all day event!” Rachel clapped once, bouncing on her toes a bit in excitement. Though as she looked over the less than thrilled faces, she realized she had neglected to tell everyone what the event was.

“Thanks to my daddy and his hook ups with the organizers, we have been given the chance to not only have our own performance stage where we can raise money for the club, but also the thrilling excitement of having our own float in this year’s gay pride parade in Cleveland!” She clapped again now that she had spilled the beans. She expected cheers but instead there was a bit of a silence that took over the room, except Kurt.

“I’m in” He said immediately, his face now bright with excitement. “I have always wanted to go to pride in Cleveland, but my dad would never let me go alone. He said it’s too dangerous. He could never go with me because he said he couldn’t leave the shop, but let’s face it, he just couldn’t bring himself to be surrounded with that much gay just yet. Blaine and I were going to go this year together but now he has to work at Six Flags-“

“Fantastic!” Rachel cut in, looking around the room with her smile that was excited with a hint of fierce determination in it too. “Who else is in? Remember this is not only fundraising for Glee but think of it as a way to fundraise for your talent. Who knows what rich experiences we will be a part of!”

“I’m in. It could be fun” Artie said with a shrug “Besides, my mom told me if I didn’t leave the house this summer and spent all my time playing Halo again she would take away my Xbox for the entire school year and I just can’t have that.”

“Yes! Alright who else?” Rachel looked expectantly around the room, already jotting on a piece of paper as each person volunteered. Puck and Lauren thought it would be fun to run amok in Cleveland unsupervised. Sam said he would ask for the weekend off from his job, an answer that seemed to please Mercedes more than anyone expected and she signed up right away after that.

“I want to go!” Brittany piped up excitedly, bouncing on the cushion next to Santana. If it had been anyone else, Santana would have been annoyed and yanked their arm off their body to stop them, but it was Brittany so she just sat there quietly with her arms folded, her body knocking back and forth with each bounce from Brittany.

“Fantastic. I knew you would all see it my way.” Rachel had just gotten down scribbling down Brittany’s name, and a few notes about how to incorporate her into the numbers she was already planning for them to perform, when she noticed there was a name missing. She frowned a little and looked up at Santana. “I’m sorry Santana but did you say yes?” She looked at her, then Brittany, and just kind of assumed she had and had missed writing down Santana’s name.

Everyone’s eyes turned to look at the Latina now. Santana felt a heat rise in her body and she was thankful for her dark skin so no one could really tell she was flushed. She stared back at Rachel, trying not to look at Brittany, or anyone else. She could already feel their silent judgment. She felt guilty, everyone else was more than willing to do this, but something inside her was stopping her and before she could justify it she shook her head “I can’t. I have something else going on.” It was a lie, a really bad one, but everyone seemed to buy it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“But San” Brittany was whining a little bit as the group now chatted over their plates. As annoying as she might be, Rachel Berry was always prepared and had added a dinner into their meeting plans as a way of saying thank you to them all for signing up.

“Britt” Santana whispered, shaking her head a little bit as her eyes lifted to each person around the room as they ate, talked, and laughed with one another. She sighed, her guilt having not left the pit of her stomach since saying no. She had barely touched the food in front of her, having just spread it around her plate to make it look like she had been eating.

“Why not?” Brittany asked with the pout still firmly on her face. Santana’s heart was shattering and she knew Brittany knew it. She had to keep her eyes on her food so she wouldn’t be sucked into saying yes just because she physically had no ability to say no to Brittany.

“I just can’t” She mumbled as she lifted her fork to her mouth and stuffed the bite of rice between her lips. Even though she wasn’t hungry, the chewing would allow her time to think of an excuse as she pretended to have her mouth full of food. “

“It could be so fun. No one would judge you there. I bet you there will be like a million Lebanese girls there, no one would even notice you. We could blend it.” Brittany was smiling, even if Santana hadn’t looked at her she could tell by the pitch of her voice.

Before she could say no again, there was a familiar annoying voice demanding attention from everyone. A few claps and the room fell silent as everyone looked over at Rachel once more.

“After speaking with all of you and going over availability, I have put together a practice schedule. Please, take one before you leave. I expect you all to be on time for every rehearsal. If you miss any practice without excuse,” She glanced at Sam knowing that he would probably have to skip one or two for work, “Then I will be forced to cut your foreground presence in any group numbers we do.”

“And what if you get hit by a car accidentally on your way to ballet tomorrow, Berry? Are you going to take away your overly unfair amount of solos?” Lauren asked with a smirk on her lips, Puck nudging her with his elbow as the two silently snickered together.

“Obviously if, Heaven forbid,  but if something were to happen to me I will have a back up plan where someone else takes lead,” She rolled her eyes as she spoke, the very idea of something happening to her annoying her.

“Are we done here?” Puck chimed in again and after walking over to hand both he and Lauren a practice schedule, she nodded to let them know they were free to go.

Puck and Lauren left quickly after that but the rest of the group lingered, finishing their meals, and catching up on things they had already been doing that summer. One by one they started to thin out until Brittany and Santana were the only two left. Santana had wanted to go a while ago but Brittany had asked Rachel to show her how her washing machine worked. It was a hidden scheme to get a free washer ride, Santana was sure of it, but she stayed for her friend anyway.

Santana sat alone on the couch still, her legs crossed at the knee and her hand lifted with her fingers folded, pretending like she was inspecting her nails but in reality she was watching Brittany giggle as the spin cycle on the washer kicked in. She was so distracted by the stunning blonde, the way her smile lit up the room and the way her laugh carried through the basement, that she didn't even notice Rachel approaching. It wasn’t until she felt the couch shift beside her with the weight of Rachel sitting that she even blinked.

“What?” Santana asked sharply, sighing with annoyance as she dropped her hand and looked over at the shorter girl next to her.

“Why can’t you go?” Rachel asked softly in a tone that was surprisingly not judgmental.

Santana gave a roll of her eyes and sighed “I told you, I have something else going on.”

"You can’t get just the weekend off? It’s two days Santana and quite frankly we need your voice to catch some attention if we hope to keep people interested all day.”

“No” She bit back sharply, her brow now knitting together in a scowl.

Rachel bit her lip and sighed, nodding her head a little bit. She knew when not to test the Latina’s patience and now was not the time. “You’ll be missed” is all she said as she got up from the couch and headed back over to Brittany. She handed her the practice schedule, but her eyes drifted back to the sad looking girl still on her couch. She could tell there was more going on she just wasn't sure what it was.


	2. Chapter 2

They had just over a month to prepare for the day long showcase in Cleveland. Even though Santana had said no, Brittany had been dragging her to the practices. Santana was almost sure it was her way of silently trying to convince her to come and she had to admit it had almost worked a time or two. Then she would remember where they would be and her fear would kick in again. She had already thought she smelled like a golf course once there was no telling what red flags, or rainbow flags more fittingly, she would be flying if she were to go to the pride festival. She was sure that everyone would know, everyone from Mars would know because she would be that visible to everyone. No, she just couldn’t go. She had to stay put for now. She just wasn’t ready.

  
“San I got you a water” Brittany said with a smile, handing her a bottle as she sat on the chair beside her friend during one of the few breaks Rachel gave them through the day. There were pants all around her from the other members coming to sit in the chairs pushed to the side of the practice space they had cleared in Rachel’s basement, but Santana was too busy focusing on Brittany. Even with a light sheen of sweat on her, she was absolutely stunning and with the way the stage lights were hitting her now it was as if she were glowing. She found herself following a drop of sweat off Brittany’s brow, down her cheek, along her jaw, until it dripped from her chin and disappeared into the cleavage that her tight tank top showed off nicely.

  
“Santana” Brittany said again when her friend seemed lost in thought having not responded to anything the blonde had just said about how she nearly kicked Rachel while dancing a few minutes ago.

  
“What? Sorry. I was thinking about something.” Santana said softly a blush creeping to her cheeks though with the heat in the house and everyone else sweating and flushed she was sure no one else noticed. Brittany certainly hadn’t. 

  
“It’s alright. Were you thinking about your thing you have to do later?” Santana still had not given Brittany a solid answer as to what it was that was keeping her from getting to go to Cleveland, so Brittany just called her “her thing”. 

  
“Uh, yeah.” Santana lied. Brittany didn’t catch it and took it as face value, shrugging as she drank down more of her water. The long blonde hair was sticking to her neck, her forehead, her cheeks. Santana had to fight the urge to reach up and push the hair out of the beautiful girl’s face.

  
“Santana.” The voice interrupted her again and she knew who it was without having to turn around. She sighed and half turned in her chair to see a surprisingly still energized and unflushed Rachel Berry looking back at her with a smile. She looked excited and peppy, as if she hadn’t been working and dancing for the past hour like the rest of the group was. Her tank top wasn’t even damp. How was it possible that something that clung that tightly to a working body was not at least a little wet with sweat? Oh wait, why was she thinking about how tight Rachel’s shirt was right now? 

  
“What Berry?” Santana asked with the natural annoyed hiss that came when talking to the shorter brunette. 

  
“Do you have a second?” She asked and even before Santana could answer, she was reaching out to grab a hold of her arm and pull her out of the chair. As the others in the group moaned and groaned about being hot and tired, Rachel lead Santana up the stairs and into the living room area of her home. 

  
“I asked your parents what you had planned this summer” She confessed very matter-of-factly as if that were not an invasion of privacy.

  
“You what!?” Santana had to clench her jaw as the urge to go Lima Heights on the dwarf just rose about ten fold in that one second.

  
Rachel stepped back just out of arm length of Santana before she continued “I was curious. I wanted to make sure everything was alright. You seem so secretive about it. What if you were undergoing chemotherapy or something? Your loss would be a terrible thing for this Glee club to go through, and just when we were really finding our footing and confidence. I had the best interest in mind” She was insistent in her tone, her hands both lifting up in front of her in a sort of shielding manner because she could see the irritation on Santana’s features. Before she could jump her, though, Rachel hurried onward “They told me as far as they knew you didn’t have anything going on. I then asked why you couldn’t go to Cleveland and they immediately seemed shocked at the mention of it.”

  
“Shut up, Berry” Santana tried to stop her but Rachel persisted.   
  
“They asked me what was happening in Cleveland and after telling them the amazing opportunity that the club was given they seemed even more confused as to why you wouldn’t want to participate because you loved Glee club. Even said you talked nonstop about it all year-“

  
“You had NO business talking to my parents, none at all!” The rage boiled out of Santana before she could even grasp it. She quickly stepped forward to shove the shorter girl away from her, grabbing onto her arm and giving it a tight squeeze.

  
The sudden strength and outburst caught Rachel off guard and fear swarmed her features as she gasped softly. “I’m sorry I just-“

  
Santana gave a shake of her hand, her grip causing Rachel’s entire body to shake violently. The red hot rage was seeping through Santana’s pores but she couldn’t stop it. It was as if she had no control over herself.

  
“Santana, you’re hurting me.” A soft whine came, but Rachel didn’t fight to get away fearing the pain would get worse.

  
“You just have to stick your huge nose into everyone’s business don’t you? You had no right. I don’t have to go to Cleveland or anywhere with Glee this summer. It’s my summer and I can do whatever I want. You just need to butt out and leave it alone-“

  
“Unhand her young lady!” A roaring voice came in from behind Santana and she immediately released her grip from Rachel’s arm. She turned slowly to see a tall man, chest puffed out, eyes red with anger. Santana had seen Rachel’s dads very few times but they had always both seemed very gentle in nature. This man here, he was unrecognizable.

  
“Daddy she didn’t mean it. It was my fault, I-“

  
“Rachel, what I just walked in on is not acceptable. Don’t make excuses for her. You-“ He pointed at Santana and then quickly whipped his finger toward the door “Get out. If I ever see you man handling my daughter like that again, so help me, I will man handle you.”

  
Santana didn’t argue. All the rage she had felt was now turned to fear and she quickly started to walk away, head down, eyes on the floor. 

  
“Daddy!” Rachel screeched, but he stepped between her and Santana as the scolded Latina walked away with her tail tucked between her legs. 

  
Santana spent the entire drive back to her house in tears, hands shaking. She hadn’t even recognized herself in there. She was angry, Rachel Berry annoyed her, but she had honestly never really thought she would physically assault the girl, especially for simply showing concern for her.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   


Not even Brittany could get Santana to come out of her room for nearly a week after she had left Rachel’s house in tears. She had no idea what had come over her, or how it had taken control, but it had scared Santana more than anything so she had sworn to stay away from Rachel and Glee and everyone until after the Cleveland trip was over. It was for the best. If she didn’t have to think about it, lie about, deny it, she wouldn’t have to hide behind the terrifyingly blinding rage that she was sure could overtake her at any given moment whenever pride was mentioned.

  
She sat alone in her dark room watching some movie she wasn’t paying attention to because Brittany was texting her nonstop. The blonde thought she was mad at her because she didn’t even say goodbye before leaving and she had to wait to get a ride home from Artie’s dad which was really awkward.

  
“Sorry B something came up” She texted back with a sigh. She really hated herself right now.

  
Suddenly there was a knock at her window and at first her heart leapt into her throat and she reached near her bed to grab the golf club she kept there for protection. She was aware of the irony but it was the only thing in her house that could do enough damage to anyone intruding. 

  
She gripped the club in her hand tightly and slipped out of bed, her eyes on the window, her feet bare as they padded slowly across her carpet. She heard a tap again and her grip tightened, her eyes narrowed, and her arms cocked back to prepare to swing. She licked her lips and took a breath as she stepped up next to the wall tightly, her eyes on the window. If anyone crawled through, she would hit them straight on the head so hard they would leak brains out of their ears.

  
“Santana?” A soft but muffled voice came through the window pane and her heart leapt. Whoever it was knew her name!? Oh Hell no!

  
“What do you want? I’m armed, dangerous, and about to go all bitch on you if you try anything funny.”

  
“It’s Rachel” She said quickly. Santana perked an eyebrow at the most unexpected answer in the world and slowly her grip loosened. Immediately guilt rose into her throat from what she had done the last time the two were together. A hand reached out and pulled at her curtain just enough to peek through and sure enough the small brunette was outside her window.

  
“Shit, Berry” She mumbled, a sigh of relief escaping now as she realized she wasn’t about to be murdered as she reached out to unlatch her window and swing it open. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

  
“I wanted to apologize” Rachel said sincerely, the look on her face a mix of sorrow and nervousness. She wasn’t really sure how the other girl would react to seeing her at her home.

  
“For what?” Santana asked quickly, she had been the one to physically attack the girl after all. Then she remembered what had caused the rage and she shook her head. “Oh that. Forget it. You were just being Rachel Berry you can’t help it.”

  
Rachel looked at the other girl from the outside for a moment, contemplating how quickly she was forgiven and the reason for it and finally she nodded “Am I really that nosey?”

  
“Yes” Santana said with a laugh that wasn’t of humor but more of annoyance and a bit of amusement that the girl was blind to her own ways sometimes.

  
“Sorry” Rachel whispered, her shoulders slumping.

  
She looked rather pathetic, actually, and for a moment Santana felt bad. She had been the one to nearly rip her arm off and yet she had felt guilty for it and thought it was her job to say she was sorry. That guilt crept up again and Santana found herself muttering words she wasn’t even aware she knew “I was in the wrong, Rachel. Please don’t blame yourself.”

  
Rachel bit surprised at how easily Santana was taking the blame, and the sincerity of her apology. Slowly a small, almost nervous smile crept to her features and she decided to push just a little. Santana seemed vulnerable at the moment, maybe she could get a real look under the tough shell. “Can I come in?”

  
Thrown off by the request, Santana’s initial reaction was to say Hell no. But she stopped herself. The girl was small, meek looking almost, and she still felt bad for what she had done so after a moment she shrugged “Yeah. Let me open the door.”

  
Before Santana could get three steps toward her bedroom door, having every intention of letting Rachel in through the front door like a regular human being, Rachel was already climbing into her window. A squeak and a crash was heard as Rachel’s foot caught the sill and she fell forward onto the floor.

  
“Shit!” Santana hurried to lock her door, knowing her mother would try to burst into to see what the commotion was, before she rushed to the smaller girl’s aid. A hand reached out to touch her shoulder, her eyes scanning her quickly for injury. Then she realized what she was doing and quickly pulled her hand away. “What the Hell, Berry! I didn’t mean you had to climb through the window!” She was stifling a laugh, even if she was a little annoyed.

  
“Oh.” Rachel blushed, but her smile stayed put as she saw a bit of amusement on Santana’s face. “I thought…” She shrugged “I didn’t want to wake your parents.”

  
“Well they are up now no doubt. You know for having dance training you can be pretty clumsy.”

  
“Hey. I will have you know my foot got caught. It has nothing to do with my ability to dance or my impeccable balance.”

  
“I was joking, Berry.” Santana’s tone was less amused and she was almost regretting letting the girl in already.

  
“Are you alright Santana!? I heard a scream!” Right on cue, her mother was knocking at her door.

  
“Fine! My foot got caught in my sweats while I was changing them. I’m fine though.” 

  
Silence. Santana knew her mom was contemplating the answer. It must have happened before because she finally answered through the door “You need to be more careful. Sweet dreams honey.”

  
Santana rolled her eyes and waved her hand at the door as if shooing her mother away even though she had stayed on the other side of the door.

  
Rachel giggled softly, now climbing to her feet and dusting off. “Do you do that a lot? Fall while getting dressed, I mean.”

  
Santana looked around her room, it was pretty cluttered making it hard to even walk without tripping sometimes, and she shrugged as she stood up now too “Shut up, Berry.”

  
Rachel’s attention was now on the room she found herself in. She was slowly and carefully walking around to look at things here and there, making sure not to step on anything on the floor. She kept her hands to herself, leaning in to read a certificate or a trophy, but always keeping her distance. Santana watched the other girl carefully and suddenly felt way too exposed. She was being intruded upon. Where was that damn golf club when she needed it now.

  
“This place depresses me” Rachel finally said after inspecting most of the room and turning now to look at Santana.

  
“How!?” Santana asked with a glance around the room. She loved her room. It was her own sacred place where no one else could touch her.    
  
“It looks like a cave!” Rachel insisted, pointing to the fact that her walls were black, her bedding was dark, it only had one little lamp in the corner, and not to mention it was dusty.

  
“If you don’t like it you can leave” Santana folded her arms over her chest, lifting one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. Stupid Rachel Berry coming in and judging her room. She liked her room. She loved it, in fact. It was where she could be herself and no one would take that away from her.

  
Rachel just smiled at the Latina. She shook her head and turned around again, this time her hand reached out to pick something up “I didn’t say I didn’t like it. It’s just depressing. I’m sure with a little more light and maybe some pastel colors it’s not so bad.”

  
“Pastel?” Santana wanted to puke at just the mention of it. Hell no.

  
Rachel didn’t answer. Her eyes were on the picture in her hands. She had a warm smile on her lips and turned to sit on the side of Santana’s bed.

  
“Ohhhh kay you can’t sit on my-“ But she stopped in attempts to rid Rachel of the picture, and pull her off the bed, when she noticed what exactly the girl was looking at. Her heart skipped a beat and she bit her bottom lip as her chest went tight. Suddenly her room did feel like a cave. It was stuffy and hot and she needed air.

  
“The only time I see you smile is when you’re with her” Rachel said now, setting down the picture of Brittany that Santana kept near her bed. She turned to face the other girl, folding her hands now in her lap as she looked up at Santana still standing nearby. “It’s nice. Seeing you two together, I mean. She is really upset you can’t come to Cleveland. She asked me at rehearsal today if you were mad at her because you left so quickly the other day.” Without thinking Rachel lifted her hand to rub at the spot on her arm where Santana had grabbed her.

  
Guilt spewed up into her throat again and she swallowed, finally dropping down to sit on the bed next to Rachel “Did it bruise?” She asked softly, her hand reaching out to touch where Rachel had just touched, fingers grazing over the smaller girl’s knuckles in the process.

  
“A little” Rachel said honestly. 

  
Santana sighed and shook her head, her hand dropping now behind her. She leaned a little bit back, both hand holding up her weight as her head fell back and she looked at her dark ceiling. 

  
Rachel looked over at the other girl with a frown on her face. She could honestly tell that for the first time in her life, Santana Lopez was genuinely sorry for causing anyone any sort of pain. She didn’t want to talk about it, though. She could see the girl was sorry, so instead she cleared her throat and looked back at the room around her. 

  
“What are you hiding?” Rachel finally said as her eyes slowly looked back at Santana, almost expecting a sharp hiss and the mattress to jolt as Santana stood. But it never came. 

  
“What do you mean?” The only reply from Rachel’s question was soft and almost scared.

  
“Black” Rachel said, motioning around the room now with a little smile “It’s the color people hide behind most. So what are you hiding?”

  
Santana felt like she wanted to puke. The cave like feeling came back again and she needed air, light, and space. She couldn’t move. She had no idea why her usual denial wasn’t there to protect her, wasn’t there for her to hide behind, but suddenly she was left there all alone with just a simple question, a simple answer, and the hardest time facing any sort of truth.

  
Another knock broke Santana’s silence and she let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

  
“Who are you talking to?” Santana’s mother asked from the other side of the door “And why is this door locked?” A bit of anger was hinted at this time and Santana hurried off the bed to the door, unlocking it and opening it.

  
“It’s just Rachel Berry. She’s in glee club with me. We were actually just discussing Cleveland.” Santana looked at Rachel and she quickly nodded as her feet hit the floor and she was over to the door faster than humanly possible, it seemed, her hand stretched out to offer a handshake greeting. 

  
“So lovely to meet you! I know we talked over the phone but I feel face to face meetings are the first real meeting. So much more personal and easier to get a great first impression. I am sorry to have disturbed you but Santana had called and asked if there was still time for her to be added to our numbers for Cleveland Pride and I had to rush over right away to give her a sheet of the dance steps, music, and itinerary for the trip!”

  
Santana stood with her mouth open in awe. Rachel Berry was a fantastic liar! Mrs. Lopez just smiled and glanced at her daughter with pride.

  
“I am glad you changed your mind Santana. We will talk about it the morning. You two girls rest up so you can practice your routines tomorrow. Don’t stay too late, Rachel.” She kissed Santana’s head then closed the door behind her.

  
Santana locked the door once more then looked at Rachel. “I never said-“

  
Rachel grinned, shrugging her shoulders a bit “I just bailed you out of having to explain why you were sneaking people into your room at all hours of the night, Santana. You owe me. So I will see you at eleven a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. You have a lot of practice to catch up on.”   
Damn it. Now she couldn’t say no to Rachel. How this happened she had no idea but she was kicking herself a little on the inside. She had to prepare herself because like it or not, ready or not, she was going to Pride in just two weeks. Out and proud? Not exactly but she was almost sure everyone would smell it from a mile away anyway. Rock and a hard place.

  
“Yeah whatever” Santana mumbled, waving Rachel toward the window again “Get out of here. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  
Satisfied with her success in convincing Santana to go, Rachel gladly bounced to the window and this time climbed out without falling. She turned back to give a wave to the girl before skipping off into the dark.

  
Slamming the window closed, Santana sighed and fell back onto her bed. “Damn it” she mumbled to herself. She stared at her ceiling for hours that night going back and forth on whether she was kind of relieved that she would be going with a group so she could just say that was why she was there and fake being uninterested in the events around her or whether or not she was terrified about going with the group because surely they would see right through her. She finally dozed off somewhere between excited to be getting out of Lima and maybe checking out the gay lifestyle where no one would know her and worry that even at a gay festival everyone would make fun of her.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a hard couple weeks having to catch up with the numbers they had all been practicing without her, but Santana had picked up fairly easily and had even been rewarded by being allowed to have a solo for the show. She hadn’t picked a song yet and when Rachel told her that was unacceptable because they would need to practice. Santana ensured her that all she wanted was herself and the microphone. She didn’t want to have to do another dance routine, or have the others have to do one either. They were doing enough that day so she figured just her singing all alone on stage would give the others time to rest between her number and whatever number would come next.  
  
It was the night before they were set to take their trip to Cleveland and the entire group was once more in Rachel Berry’s basement. They would be making a  car  pool train in the morning with Rachel’s dads driving Rachel, Brittany, and Santana in their car. Puck would tow a small hitch trailer with some equipment and costumes in it as well as taking Artie and Lauren. Kurt would have Mercedes and Sam. Rachel had wanted to make sure they all left on schedule and that no one would get lost so she insisted they all stay the night at her house that night so they would all be in one place ready to go the next morning.

  
It took a lot of convincing for Rachel to get her daddy to let Santana come back into her house. Santana had actually apologized several times and promised it would never happen again, that she had been having a bad day and Rachel had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Berrys were humble people and believed in second chances, so they forgave her and since then Santana had been a model citizen. She hardly cracked jokes at Rachel, or anyone, and kept quiet on breaks during rehearsals. 

  
Now they were spread out in the basement, all in one open room at the request of Rachel’s fathers. They figured with no closed doors and no privacy nothing funny could go down. They were to stay in the basement and not roam about the house looking for a place to sneak off to. The only other room downstairs was a bathroom and if anyone was caught going in two by two they would be separated and their parents called. That of course didn’t really hold true for two girls or two guys considering no one knew Santana was gay and Kurt’s boyfriend was not even there. But there would be absolutely no girl/boy pairs allowed in the bathroom at the same time unless the door was open, which with Kurt and the girls was a possibility. He was the go to guy for make-up and fashion after all.

  
Even though they were to get up early the next morning and make the couple hour drive to Cleveland, none of the group seemed to be tired at all. They were all spread out chatting, laughing, telling stories, and pumping themselves up for the event tomorrow. Puck was trying to convince Artie to be a look out for he and Lauren so they could sneak off and try to get into a bar tomorrow. Sam and Mercedes were listening intently to Kurt who had mapped out which gay sights they would explore between which numbers throughout the day. He was brimming with excitement on the eve of his first gay pride, sure that once he got a taste he would have to go back every year. Rachel sat on the couch overlooking everyone between texting on her phone. Santana rolled her eyes at that. She was probably texting Finn.

  
“B” Santana whispered softly, rolling onto her side and propping her head up on her hand. Brittany was sprawled out next to her, coloring with some crayons in a book of what looked like baby farm animals. It was her favorite road trip activity, she had insisted. She was going to color a picture for everyone that came on the trip with them.

  
“Do you like it San?” She asked as her hand moved and she showed her the picture of two kittens that were snuggled together, a little heart above their heads.

  
Santana smile, nodding her head a little bit at the colorful picture her friend had made.

  
“This one is yours because it reminds me of you and me. Plus it’s cats and they are my favorite and you are my favorite so it fits.” Brittany smiled, carefully tearing out the page and handing it over to Santana. 

  
Santana took the picture and looked at it, grinning like a fool. Anyone who saw her would probably wonder why the Hell a picture made her so happy. Luckily everyone was too immersed in their own thing to notice. “Thanks, B.” She folded it up, reaching for her bag near her head. She unzipped it and tucked the picture into one of her books she had brought for the ride tomorrow.

  
“You want to pretend to be cats tonight and snuggle?” Brittany asked as she closed her coloring book and put it away with her crayons as well. 

  
“I thought you’d never ask” Santana said with a smile, rolling to her back and lifting her arm for Brittany to scoot up next to her, which the blonde did without hesitation. She laid her head on Santana’s chest, a giggle escaping as she looped her arm around Santana’s waist “Your boob is always so soft. Like a pillow always waiting for me.”

  
Santana laughed out loud at that which caused everyone to look over at them. It wasn’t unusual to see the two of them snuggled up together and Santana lifted her head to look at them all “Keep it down, Britts and I are gonna get out sleep on.” 

  
There were a few shrugs and people went back to what they were doing. All except Rachel. She set her phone down now and watched the two girls snuggled together on the floor. Her fathers had strict no funny business rules set in place and she was going to enforce them. At least that is what she would tell anyone wondering why she was watching the two girls so closely. In reality she…well she honestly didn’t know why but the two of them intrigued her in that moment. All she knew was she couldn’t take her eyes off them.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
 

“Shhh” Santana whispered to the blonde beside her as she shifted under the blanket the two of them shared so she was now over the slender body of her best friend. It was dark now, the group having finally died down and gone to sleep. Santana had been wide awake all night, her anxiety about the next day still in the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t sleep and luckily Brittany had picked up on it not too long ago and when she had asked why Santana was awake she had mumbled something about lady kisses helping her sleep. All too happy to oblige, Brittany had rolled over and the two of them had started a heavy make out session under the blanket.

  
Santana looked down at her pretty blonde friend now with a smile on her lips. She kept her face close, not wanting to give away that she was on top of the other girl now just in case someone might wake and looked their way through the darkness. Though as her lips touched Brittany’s with soft kisses and the heat in her body rose she was sure by the end of it they would be a dead giveaway if anyone saw them moving. That was why they had to stay quiet.

  
“Remember when we stayed at Quinn’s and we had to be quiet?” Santana whispered and Brittany smiled, nodding her head quickly at the memory “It’s just like that okay?” Brittany didn’t argue. She lifted her head to take another soft kiss as her arms wrapped around her best friend.

  
She was immediately intoxicated by Brittany’s mouth once more. This was how the light making out had turned heavy. How the making out went from heavy to heavy petting and how she was now on top of the girl with one thigh pressed tightly between Brittany’s legs. She had no control when it came to the blonde. A single touch, a glance, a smile and she was a goner. She had no restraint at all when it came to anything physical past a casual touch.

  
Her lips broke away from Brittany’s now, trailing her mouth down her sweet soft skin along her neck. Her teeth scraped lightly at Britt’s throat, causing the blonde to giggle. She wanted to scold her, but instead she just smiled and continued. It was a soft giggle, no one heard she was sure of it. Besides she had more important things to do, like taste every inch of Brittany that she could.   
Her leg shifted against Britt as she moved along her body, her thigh pressing into Brittany’s core softly, accidentally even, but the reaction she got from the blonde sent a shiver down her spine and a lightning bolt of arousal right between her legs. Feeling this beautiful body under her twitch and jerk with pleasure was something that made Santana come almost instantly. It was without a doubt one of the sexiest things she had ever witnessed.

  
A glanced was given toward Brittany, but Santana didn’t pause long and soon her mouth returned to exploring her body. Brittany still wore a shirt but that didn’t stop Santana from seeking out a hardened nipple through the material and wrapping her lips around it. She gave a soft suck, her teeth running along the heightened nerves in her mouth. Brittany’s back arched and Santana knew that was her green light. The girl was not fighting it, not that she had expected her to, but had she wanted her to stop so they wouldn’t get caught, that was out the window now. 

  
As her mouth continued the torment of the nipple through Brittany’s shirt, Santana’s hands continued their conquest down her body. She was so thankful that her friend never wore underwear to bed. It made fooling around in secret a lot easier. Even if they had done it countless times by now and mastered the skill, the lack of any panties in the way just aided it all the more.

  
Fingers wound their way down over the tight stomach that had formed since Brittany had started dancing more regularly since joining Glee club. A soft moan slipped from Santana as her fingertips dipped in and out of the little grooves between abs. Screw Mike Change, Britt had the best abs in the entire school.    
 

The detour over her stomach lasted only a moment and soon her fingers were pushing past the elastic band of the tiny shorts Britt was wearing. Fingers grazed right over the small patch of curly hair she found, a smirk coming to her lips. She had taught the girl how to groom herself, convincing her that just a little strip of hair was what all the guys loved. Secretly it was what she loved but Britt would never need to know that was her intentions for telling her that.

  
Santana couldn’t get distracted, though. This had to be fairly quick and to the point just in case someone did wake up and wonder what the commotion was. So her fingers moved forth, through the patch of hair, curling between Brittany’s legs now. Her fingers slid easily through the heat she found waiting for her, slick with desire and need. She loved how easily Brittany was ready for her. 

  
Without hesitation Santana drove two fingers through the hot folds and into Brittany deeply. A sharp grunt was heard from the girl and she quickly bit her lip and looked down at Santana as if she would be told to shush. Santana just smirked as her fingers started to work in and out quickly. Each thrust of her fingers made Brittany jolt against the floor a bit. Each thrust of her fingers gave Santana a little more of a power trip.

  
Sick of playing with the shirt now, Santana used her other hand to push the hem of it up Brittany’s body until her breasts were exposed to her. Immediately her head dove and she took another perked nipple between her lips. Having her tongue roll around the actual pink flesh of the nipple tasted so sweet that Santana could hardly fight the moan that rolled up her throat and snuck out her lips. She teased the excited bit in her mouth, her tongue swirling and her teeth biting, even pulling a bit. Brittany’s back arched again and she knew she had her right where she wanted her.

  
A third finger was slipped into Brittany and as the two outside fingers pushed deep into the girl, her middle finger curled up and teased against the nerves there that she knew ignited the blonde. All in the same motion, Santana’s thumb slid along the still soaked slit until she found the swollen and waiting clit. The pad of her thumb took no prisoners as she immediately applied pressure, moving it in firm circles with each thrust inside. She alternated between circles and back and forth. 

  
She felt Brittany’s thighs started to tremble and she knew she was close. Santana had soaked through her own tiny shorts just watching the way Brittany’s body moved below her. She dropped her hips and pressed her hot center against Brittany’s firm thigh, giving a few grinds against her. Electricity flowed through her and she had to bite down to keep from releasing a moan that would wake the dead. Her mouth dropped from the nipple she had been teasing and quickly her teeth grabbed hold of her pillow, stifling the sounds as she worked her hips furiously against Brittany’s thigh.

  
She hit a particularly hard spot on the blonde’s thigh and all her movements stopped except a few rolls of her hips, concentrating all of her nerves onto the one spot. Her toes curled and a shiver ran through her spine. Again she bit the pillow before finally sitting up and putting all of her weight on the thigh she was now riding like a bronco.

  
Had anyone woken, they would know what was going on. In the corner of the Berry’s basement was Santana sitting upright, bucking and swaying with Brittany thrashing below her. But at this point neither one of them cared.

  
As a tremble moved through Santana, she remembered her thumb. Although her fingers had continued their thrusts in and out, her thumb had paused. The sudden restart of her thumb against Brittany’s clit caused the blonde to gasp out loud. She turned her head and pushed her pillow against her mouth as her body thrashed until she was soaking Santana’s hand as she clenched around her with the waves of pleasure over taking her.

  
The suddenness of Brittany’s release caused Santana to smirk and as her hand stilled within her friend she gave a few more rough grinds to the thigh below before she felt herself clenching and throbbing against the thigh. Santana’s eyes rolled back into her head and she let out a soft sigh. Her entire body tingled and for a brief moment everything was perfect.

  
She eased herself off Brittany, groaning as the movement tingled between her legs . She laughed very softly as she settled herself against Brittany’s spent, exhausted body. Santana made sure to grab the blanket and pull it back over the two as she brought her head to rest next to Britt’s.

  
She smiled at her best friend, the two of them face to face sharing one pillow. She could see Brittany smiling in the dark. Neither one of them said anything. Brittany laid a simple kiss to Santana’s lips and that was the last thing she remembered as their tired bodies took over and sleep crept up on them.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
 

Though she had fought the trip, when it actually came time to leave Santana was unusually chipper. Maybe she was excited, even though that was masked by worry, denial, and fear. Or maybe it had been that she had woken up next to her best friend knowing that the night they had shared together had really happened. It had been so long since the two of them had done anything, really, and the night before had only served to put a little hop in Santana’s step and a light in her eyes. She felt great, like she could face the world, and she was ready. Well, ready to perform and sing. She was still nervous about being so obviously gay once surrounded by so many rainbows that everyone within a hundred mile radius would know, but she would deal with that once they got there.

  
The car ride with the Berry’s had been fairly quiet. The two men made the trip to Cleveland each year to celebrate their lifestyle. Rachel had been several times with her fathers as well. Brittany just loved everyone, everything, and every color so she was completely excited. Everyone was calm and excited for the festival. Surprisingly enough, Santana was not as worried as she thought she might be, at least not yet. As soon as she saw a rainbow flag and the dykes on bikes banner she might start flipping out but for now she was cool as a cucumber.   
 

Rachel’s dads were having a soft conversation about something on the radio, politics or something, and Brittany had dozed off with her head on Santana’s shoulder, who was sitting in the middle of the backseat between her and Rachel. The ride was fairly peaceful, fairly quiet, until Rachel leaned over to whisper to Santana.

  
“I know what you did last night at my house.” Her tone was sharp, but the volume soft so as not to let her dads hear.

  
“What?” Santana asked as calmly as she could. She and Britt were good at denying anything people might have said they caught them doing. It just came naturally.

  
“Don’t play dumb with me. I heard you. I am a very light sleeper, especially when I’m not in my own bed. I heard a noise that woke me from my sleep and when I looked around the room to see what it was, I saw you and Brittany.”

  
Santana sat quietly for a moment, her eyes straight ahead, knowing that if she looked at Rachel it would be a dead giveaway. She shrugged a shoulder and looked down at Brittany on her shoulder. “Britt had a bad dream and I was trying to comfort her. You probably just heard us whispering.”

  
“Oh right.” Rachel said with a roll of her eyes. “And what part of that comforting involves you riding Brittany like a mechanical bull?”

  
Santana went flush. Shit, she was so busted. She swallowed hard, suddenly her mouth had gone dry. How as she going to explain this? She could talk herself out of almost anything yet here she was, trapped in a car, busted, and her mind racing for an answer.

  
“You pervert. You were spying on us. You probably get your jollies off watching other people.” She snapped her head around now to look at Rachel, her lips curled into a bit of a snarl as she tried to go on the defensive and turn this around on Rachel.

  
It didn’t work and Rachel cleared her throat “Daddy?” She said sweetly. Santana’s eyes went wide and she suddenly felt numb.   
“What is it my sweet angel?” Came the voice of the driver

  
Rachel paused and glanced over to Santana. She could see the panic in her eyes, her face pale, and the pleading shake of Santana’s head was begging her not to say a word. Her fathers already hated her, she was sure of it.

  
“When we stop next can I get a snack for everyone? Puck just texted and said he was starving.” She glanced at Santana with a little victory in her smirk. Her father assured Rachel that their next stop was not too far away and he would be happy to get them all a snack to hold them over until they got lunch when they arrived in Cleveland.

  
“I love you.” Rachel said in thanks before she settled back into her seat. Her dads both chimed in with an ‘I love you too’ before they continued with the conversation they had been having before the interruption. 

  
“What do you want?” Santana asked softly, a defeated tone in her voice as her eyes dropped back to Brittany who was still sound asleep on her shoulder. 

  
Rachel shrugged slightly and a smirk curled over her normally sweet face and she had a bit of deviance in her eyes “I’ll think of something. You owe me, Lopez.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

The trip had gone smoothly, aside from the panic in the backseat of the Berry’s  car  and when Kurt thought he was going to run out of gas only to realize his gas cap was off causing the meter to beep as if it were low. They had stopped once to gas up and get a snack then arrived in Cleveland with not too much drama. They found their hotel first and after unpacking their things and splitting the rooms into boys and girls, the Berry fathers in a room between the kids, they had all grouped together for lunch and a little tour of where they would set up to perform at the festival the next day. Santana hadn’t felt much like going. She wasn’t hungry and had actually been exhausted from the little sleep she had managed to get the night before, so she had decided to stay back in her room. She had promised not to wonder off alone and pretty much as soon as everyone had left, she had passed out on her bed.

  
She was awoken by the sound of the door opening. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out or how long everyone had been gone. She rubbed her eyes and as she tried to focus on the clock next to her bed, she heard the door close and assumed everyone was returning.

  
“Santana?” A familiar voice filled her ears and she rolled her eyes once more, falling back onto the bed and looking up at the ceiling so she didn’t have to look at her.

  
“I promise I’ve been in bed the entire time. I didn’t sneak off to party or anything. I was tired.” She mumbled through a heavy sigh, sure she was about to get an earful about how she should have gone out as it was a team building exercise or something like that.

  
“I know” Rachel said softly as she moved to the edge of the bed and sat down near Santana’s feet, looking up at the girl under the sheets. “I just wanted to make sure you were feeling alright. I mean, I know there was a reason you didn’t want to come in the first place so I wanted to make sure you weren’t regretting being here.”

  
“I’m fine.” The answer was so automatic that Santana didn’t have to think about it anymore. If she didn’t want to discuss something, she was fine and that was that.   
  
Rachel nodded and turned around, looking at the mirror on the wall at the end of the bed, her watching Santana’s reflection as she lay in the bed. She was quiet for a long time before finally she spoke again. “I’m not going to tell anyone what I saw last night. I only brought it up in the car today so you couldn’t run away and deny it.” She admitted it with a shrug. It was probably obvious that was why she had waited to talk about it. “I just want you to know that I don’t judge you. I have two gay dads after all. If Brittany makes you happy then that is all I care about.” She turned now, her eyes shifting from the mirror reflection to Santana’s actual form in the bed “Believe it or not I do care if you are happy.”

  
Santana put a hand over her face and let out a sigh. Why was this happening to her right now? Why was it Rachel Berry, of all people, having this discussion with her? She was kicking herself for not being able to control herself with Brittany.

  
The silence was awkward and in Rachel Berry fashion, she broke it before it got too thick “I just have one question” she turned now and sat on her knees facing Santana in the bed, though she was still at the foot and Santana was still laying near the head of the bed.

  
“What is it?” Santana perked an eyebrow and lifted her hand enough to look down at Rachel. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the question, but it was out now so she might as well get it over with.

  
Rachel chewed her bottom lip for a moment, leaning forward to press her hands into the mattress. She used this to slide herself even closer to Santana so she was now kneeling near her waist. She was able to see her face now and when she finally spoke it was quiet “How did you know?”

  
Santana lifted her hand completely off her face now, using her hands to push into the mattress and sit up, leaning her back against the headboard. She eyed the girl that had come increasingly closer to her when she hadn’t been looking and after a moment of not understanding, she shook her head “Know what?”

  
“That…” Rachel sighed now, her knees walking up the mattress now as she slowly made her way right next to Santana now. She turned and plopped onto her ass, her back hitting the headboard so she now sat exactly like Santana was. Her eyes stayed forward now and she stared in the mirror at the two of them side by side in bed “That you liked girls? That you wanted to do that…with another girl?”

  
“I don’t. I mean, it’s just Britt. She is my best friend it’s just what we do.” Santana fumbled over her words as the denial flowed out of her body pretty unconvincingly.

  
Rachel shook her head and looked at the girl beside her now “Friends don’t do that. I can understand a little making out, you know, just to experiment or practice.” She shrugged, tucking some of her hair behind her ear before dropping her hand back to her lap. “But friends don’t do what I saw you two do last night and they definitely don’t enjoy it as much as you two seemed to have enjoyed it.”

  
Santana went pale. She felt a little light headed and she had to close her eyes to keep from throwing up right then and there. She took a deep breath to steady herself but before she had to think of a lie, Rachel continued.

  
“I think I might….like that.” She said softly, her hand now reaching out to touch Santana’s arm very gently. It was sort of her way of telling her she shouldn’t be scared. That they had more in common than Santana thought, or cared to admit to anyone.

  
There surprise on Santana’s face was evident as her eyes shot open and she looked at Rachel wide eyed. “You…” She couldn’t wrap her head around it.

  
Rachel just shrugged and looked at her hands in her lap again.

  
“Shit” Santana mumbled, looking straight ahead. She caught the reflection in the mirror, the two of them side by side in bed and for a brief moment it didn’t seem weird to her. Her and Rachel Berry were on exactly the same playing field here.

  
“Are you and Brittany together?” Rachel piped in suddenly, her curiosity outweighing the confession she had just made.

  
“What? No. I mean, not really.” Santana shrugged. She looked down at her own hands now that had been tugging and wringing the sheets at her waist. She bit her lip and mumbled very softly “It’s complicated.”

  
Rachel just nodded and looked ahead at the mirror again. She saw two girls that looked almost exactly alike now; Slumped over, confused, scared, and maybe even a little glad that they weren’t alone. “Finn and I aren’t together either. I thought I really liked him but the truth is I liked his attention. Making out with him was okay but I never wanted more. I thought I loved him but I think I just loved the idea of him because it was normal. Plus he is really sweet and funny and we have fun together but I realized it was more of like a best friend fun and not a boyfriend fun.”

  
Santana was in shock. She could have bet her life saving on the fact that Rachel would chase Finn until the day he decided to marry her just because she had chased everyone else away from him.

  
Rachel didn’t leave much room for reaction though, her hurried babbling continued “I told him we would see what happened after Nationals but with him at football camp and me here I realized that I don’t like him nearly as much as I thought I did.” She laughed at that and looked over at Santana next to her. “Then I saw what I saw last night and it sparked more in me than all of my making out with Finn or Puck or Jesse combined.”

  
The Latina girl smiled, shaking her head a bit “He’s not very good in bed anyway. If you weren’t gay before, you would be after sleeping with him.”

  
“So you are gay?” Rachel said quietly, shying away just a bit as she expected a harsh lashing of words to come flying her way.

  
Santana sighed, her eyes focused on her fingers that pulled nervously at the sheet. She was quiet for a long time. Rachel Berry was the last person in the world she expected to be the first she confessed this to. Well, she had told Kurofsky only because she needed him to get Kurt back. Brittany still only kind of understood what was going on. But Rachel Berry being the first person she really kind of came out to? That was the last thing in the world she had ever expected. Yet as she sat here beside the girl, the fear of rejection or being made fun of or becoming an outcast was nowhere in sight and after a moment, her eyes lifted and her head nodded “Yeah. I’m gay.”

  
Rachel smiled at the words. She could tell the girl had been dying to tell someone yet too afraid of the world ending if she did so. Without thinking she lifted her arm and slid it around Santana’s shoulders, giving her a sort of halfway, one armed, crooked hug where she squeezed her and laid her head on her shoulder for a moment. “Yeah me too.” She whispered before quickly letting go of her. She didn’t want to risk a Santana mood swing and be caught in the backlash of it.

  
Surprisingly enough, Santana didn’t shy away from the hug or yell at her for touching her. She just nodded at the words the girl spoke, a shake of her head being given “You made that seem so easy Berry. How do you do that?”

  
Rachel laughed a bit, shrugging her shoulders “For once in my life I didn’t want to make a huge dramatic scene of something. Besides I had a good role model.” She glanced to Santana beside her and for a moment the two girls held eyes, a silent understanding between the two of them.

  
“Oh shut up” Santana mumbled, rolling her eyes and giving Rachel a nudge with her elbow before she slid out of the bed now, reaching for a ponytail on the nightstand to pull her hair up into. “Is everyone still downstairs eating?”   
  
“Yeah.” Rachel said with a nod as she followed suit, standing from the bed and straightening out her skirt. She smiled over at Santana as she moved to the other side of the room to get her purse “I told my dads I forgot my camera” She held up the little bag where it was tucked away safely. “I did it on purpose. I was hoping we could talk.”

  
Santana rolled her eyes. This didn’t surprise her. She finished with her hair then slipped a foot into each shoe she had kicked off earlier before looking back at Rachel “Let’s go join them. I could really go for a huge cheeseburger.”

  
Rachel nodded while turning and skipping to the door. She turned the handle but paused, glancing at Santana over her shoulder “That’s why you didn’t want to come, right? You thought being here would out you?”

  
Santana paused, an eyebrow arched as she looked at the girl. It was like she was reading her mind. “Yeah…” 

  
Rachel smiled with a little shrug as she pulled the door open now and stepped out, waiting for Santana to follow “Trust me you hide it pretty well. “ She giggled and started to skip toward the elevator with Santana right behind her. She pressed the call button and waited for the door to open. She stepped inside and waited for Santana to join her. Once the other girl was on the cart, she pressed the lobby button and the two of them rode down in silence. As the doors opened on the ground floor, Rachel looked up at Santana with another smile “I won’t tell anyone.” That was all she said before she skipped off and headed to the hotel restaurant to meet the group with a stunned and humbled Santana Lopez silently following behind her.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lunch with the group turned into site seeing with the group. Before they knew it the evening had crept up on them and now they were all getting ready for their early morning set up for the long day tomorrow. Even though Lauren was still trying to sneak out of her room to meet Puck and Artie for some potential shenanigans, Mr. Berry was watching over the room with an eagle eye and it seemed any and all plans that included anything but staying in, watching a movie, and going to bed were going to be shot down immediately. 

  
The kids all took turns calling their parents in the Berry’s conjoining room. It was the only place between the three rooms that was quiet enough to actually hear a phone call being made so one by one they took their cell phones, or borrowed someone else’s, and called home. While the phonecalls were made, they were allowed to mingle back and forth between the three rooms to say goodnight, chat, or hangout until the Berry’s decided to call it a night. Santana opted just to text her mom from her own phone, Brittany had spent nearly an hour telling her mother everything she had seen that day, and Puck didn’t even bother calling home. 

  
Now as Sam said goodbye and the boys were ushered to their room. Kurt and Mercedes didn’t want to seem to want to say goodbye, too excited about the day to come. Brittany made sure to huge everyone as they left and Sam seemed to linger until last just to make sure to hug Mercedes, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Santana.

  
Rachel returned from her father’s room after kissing them both goodnight, closing the connecting door behind her but leaving it unlocked, much to the disapproval of everyone in the room.

  
“Alright listen up. I have brought my dvd collection so we can watch something classic and entertaining before we sleep to get us excited for tomorrow! We have Funny Girl, Evita, Grease-“

  
“Boring. Hey Wheezy what’s up with you and Sam?” Santana cut off Rachel and turned her, and everyone else’s attention, toward Mercedes who immediately shrunk back into her chair a little bit.

  
“What do you mean?” She tried to play it cool but her shy look and shifting eyes gave her away. Brittany clapped at this and Lauren scooted a bit closer as if expecting her to dish.

  
“Ladies, we cannot stay up all night gossiping!” Rachel tried to cut in, but everyone ignored her.

  
“Nothing!” Mercedes insisted quickly, but no one was buying it and as she realized all their eyes were upon her, even Rachel’s, she shrugged and started to giggle a little “He’s cute and sweet. I don’t know, we are taking it slow but I really like him.”

  
There was a cat call from Lauren, followed by a nudge of her elbow to Mercedes’ side. Brittany turned to Santana and smiled before turning back to look at Mercedes.

  
“Are you guys dating or just having sex?” The blonde asked and even though Mercedes skin was dark everyone in the room could see her turning pink.

  
“Brittany!” Rachel snapped, but even her tone was a little amused at how blunt she had been.

  
“What? San and I-“

  
“Britt!” Santana interrupted quickly, her eyes wide at the blonde in a silent way of telling her to shut up “Not everyone is as comfortable with talking about their personal lives as others are. Besides, if she didn’t put out of Puck she definitely hasn’t done it with Sam yet.”

  
“How do you know?” Mercedes snapped, a bit offended that the Latina just assumed she hadn’t put out, although she wasn’t sure why.   
Santana folded her arms and looked Mercedes up and down with a shrug of her shoulders “Sam is too polite. He knows that no means no.”

  
“Did you ever tell him no?” Mercedes snapped back.

  
Santana’s eyes immediately narrowed at the challenging words that had been shot back at her. Everyone’s attention now focused on Santana as the Latina was in a stare down with the darker girl. After a moment, she shook her head and coolly just shook her head “He’s not really my type. Even I have limits.”   
  
“So Finn was your type?” Mercedes asked with a roll of her eyes, obviously not believing Santana one bit and just assumed she was dodging the question altogether.

  
“For your information I slept with Finn to piss off Rachel as part of Sue’s plan to destroy the club” she sounded a little more guilty about that than she had meant to and a glance was given over her shoulder to where Rachel stood now “Like I said before, you aren’t missing anything.”

  
Rachel smiled at the words. It was as if Santana were confirming that just like Rachel wouldn’t say a word to anyone about the talk they had had earlier in the day, Santana wouldn’t say a word either.

  
Seeing the silent exchange of looks, silent understanding shared, Mercedes perked an eyebrow and spoke up again “So you’ve forgiven her for that Rachel?”

  
Rachel broke the eye contact she had with Santana, looking over at Mercedes and giving a slight nod of her head as she slowly sat on the edge of the bed near Santana but not next to her “It’s ancient history.”

  
“Will I have to remember this for my history test because I didn’t take notes” Brittany mumbled, a look of confusion and worry on her face.

  
There was a soft laugh through the room, more filled with pity than actual amusement, and Santana reached out for her friend and rubbed her back where she sat cross legged on the bed next to her “It’s just a saying. There’s no test.”

  
Mercedes rolled her eyes, Lauren matched the look as well, and Rachel just smiled before slipping off the bed and going to the light switch. She turned off all the lights except a single lamp on the wall between the two beds in the room. 

    
“Alright ladies I say we crawl into bed and start to settle down.” Rachel nodded, looking between the two beds. One bed held Brittany and Santana, the other had Lauren sprawled out and Mercedes in a chair next to it. When no one moved, she sighed and put her hands on her hips “We need to be fresh for tomorrow! Come on!”

  
Groans and mumbles, and probably a few curse words from Lauren, filled the room but they all obliged and crawled into bed. Rachel stood valiantly at watch until all four girls were under their blankets in their beds. Once they were all tucked in, she nodded and kneeled on the floor between the two beds to spread out her sleeping bag and pillow. Always the martyr, she had taken the floor so the other girls could be well rested tomorrow. Besides, she could out perform all of them in her sleep so she wasn’t worried.

  
Santana was settling onto the bed, lifting an arm above her head to lie on as Brittany settled in close to her. A sigh left her lips as she got comfortable. She was more than ready for a good night sleep. That was when she noticed Rachel fluff her pillow on the floor next to her and she frowned a little. She turned her head and looked down at the girl. She actually kind of felt bad. It was Rachel’s dad that had hooked all this up and yet she was willing to give up a bed. Maybe it was the newly found common ground between them, but Santana legitimately felt bad.

  
“Hey Rach” She said softly as if she would wake the others even though they had just lain down. No one looked at the soft whisper except for Rachel and silently inquired what it was that Santana wanted.

  
“You should come get in bed with Britt and I” At that, Mercedes and Lauren both lifted their heads to look at Santana. The Latina looked at the other two then down at Rachel who was looking at her in shock at her offer. Santana shrugged and quickly shook her head “What? There is plenty of room on the bed and it’s not fair Rachel has to get all stiff and sore from the floor.”

  
Mercedes’ jaw dropped, Lauren perked her eyebrow, and Rachel just smiled. She scooped up her pillow and got to her feet before climbing up onto the bed next to the other two girls. Santana had an arm wrapped around Brittany and the two girls scooted as one unit to make a little more room before they both settled back down against their pillow. She looked down at Brittany with a smile before looking back over to Rachel who was slipping under the blankets next to them.

  
“Can Rachel tell us a bedtime story?” Brittany finally piped in. Santana had thought she was asleep and she laughed softly and nodded her head before looking over to Rachel with a look that told her she had no choice, she was going to tell a story.

  
“I’d love to. It’s the least I can do for your hospitality in sharing your bed with me Brittany.” 

  
“The more the merrier” Brittany mumbled through a soft yawn “It better be a funny story.”

  
“I have the perfect one” Rachel said with a nod before rolling over to turn off the light between the beds now leaving the room in darkness. Rachel was happy to tell a long winded story and soon the room died quiet as one by one the bodies went still into a deep sleep until the only sound left was heavy breathing all around her.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
 

Santana stirred somewhere between when they had all drifted off and dawn. Surprisingly she was comfortable and not too squished on the bed with three people. Not so surprisingly she hadn’t moved all night. She was jammed between Brittany and Rachel so she didn’t really have anywhere to go. Now, though, she was going to have to move because her bladder felt like it was going to pop. She frowned a little, trying to push the urge away and fall right back to sleep, but it wasn’t really working and the hand that lay on her stomach was pressing just enough weight against her that her bladder was feeling it. 

  
Wait, whose hand was on her stomach. Her eyes came open slowly and she looked down to see blonde hair spread out wildly on the pillow in front of her. Brittany’s back was against her, curled up into a little ball. She blinked and rolled her head to look behind her the best she could without stirring around too much. There she saw Rachel lying right up against her, her arm slid nicely around Santana’s waist and her hand against the girl’s stomach. The realization caused Santana’s stomach to knot. Not in a bad way, surprisingly. Even more surprising was the heat that twitched between her thighs. Why? She couldn’t even begin to explain but the touch from Rachel, as innocent as it might have been definitely got Santana’s attention.

  
She didn’t want to wake Rachel and risk her realizing she was touching her and them have some awkward moment, she instead she rolled her head back forward and gently her hand moved to Brittany’s side.

  
“B” She whispered softly, giving a little shake of the thin blonde girl’s frame. She shook in place but didn’t really stir. Sighing a bit at that, she tried again a little harder this time only to have Brittany swat her hand away.

  
“Not tonight I’m tired.”

  
Santana sighed and shook her head “No. I have to pee.”    
  
Brittany didn’t respond for a moment and Santana was about to just crawl over the girl when Brittany rolled over, put a single foot on the floor, and slid off the bed with half her body and her head still on the mattress. Santana couldn’t help but laugh as she scrambled past her, hurrying into the bathroom.

  
Santana washed her hands now after peeing for what she felt was ten minutes. She hadn’t realized how badly she had to go until she had actually sat on the toilet. She was just turning off the water when she thought she heard a knock on the door. Quirking her head to the side, she leaned her ear closer to the door to listen carefully. Surely no one was up yet it was still dark outside.

  
When the sound didn’t return, she reached for the towel to dry her hands and that was when she heard it again.

  
“Alright whose there?” Santana snapped, reaching for the door knob and whipping it open. She jumped when she was nearly face to face with a surprisingly awake looking Rachel Berry.

  
“Shi-“ Santana nearly cursed, but Rachel hurried and covered the Latina’s mouth so she wouldn’t wake the others. She lifted her finger to her own lips in a shush motion before stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. 

  
“I didn’t mean to scare you. You woke me up when you got out of bed.” Rachel said matter-of-factly before dropping her hand away from Santana’s mouth.

  
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be easier to get through Britt” She said with a shrug. That was a lie. She remembered very clearly Rachel telling her what a light sleeper she was.

  
“It’s okay” Rachel shrugged, giving a happy smile to the girl “I’m up now anyway. It’s only a half hour before I had initially set my alarm clock to get up today so I’m not too upset. I was going to use the hotel gym to hit my elliptical routine while the rest of you slept in an extra hour but now that I am up maybe I will go early and we can all get an early start!”

  
Santana rolled her eyes. That was the last thing she wanted. In fact, she wished she was in bed right now falling back to sleep.

  
“Anyway” Rachel said, tucking some hair behind her ear before folding her arms in front of her. She looked at Santana for a moment before looking at her feet.

  
“What?” Santana asked with a little annoyance in her voice. “It looks like you wanted to say something. If not, can I please go back to bed?”

  
Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but stopped. She could see Santana was growing more and more annoyed so she just shook her head and stepped out of the way of the door. “Go back to bed. I will see you when you wake up.”

  
Santana had never really seen Rachel give up so easily on something and she perked an eyebrow at the quick surrender. Now she felt bad. How did Rachel do that? Damn it. “What is it?” she said more softly this time, showing that she was now genuinely interested in what she had to say.

  
“It’s just…” Rachel blushed and her face faltered a moment as she looked down to her feet. She sighed in an attempt to regain her courage to ask and finally looked up to Santana and whispered “What does it feel like to kiss a girl?”

  
“Whoa hold up” Santana put a hand up as if to emphasize the holding up that she wanted Rachel to do. “You’ve never even kissed a girl but you can sit next to me on a bed and tell me you’re gay with such certainty?”

 

Rachel shrugged but nodded at the same time. “I’ve been curious for a while. There was a reason I never slept with any of the guys I dated, it just didn’t appeal to me like it should. I thought I was just waiting for the right one, you know, because they say when you find the right one you will just know? Then I saw what you and Brittany did and I felt something I had never felt before.” She blushed a bright red at her admittance to being aroused at her accidental but then kind of on purpose watching of the two girls in her basement the night before.

  
Santana looked at Rachel for a moment in pure silence. She wasn’t even sure how to respond really. Part of her was embarrassed that Rachel must have heard and seen a whole lot of what Brittany and she had done. Part of her wanted to laugh because being turned on by seeing one act of sex did not make you straight or gay. She could watch two dudes kiss and get turned on. Once when the wind blew and the trees tangled and looked like they were making out it turned her on.

  
“Just because you liked it doesn’t mean you’re gay, Rachel.” As the word came out of her mouth she suddenly felt sick. Had Rachel tricked her into admitting she was gay? She frowned immediately and anger started to take over. “You just said you were gay so I would tell you I was, didn’t you? You tricked me so you would have something to hold over my head!”

  
“Santana I would never do such a thing!” Rachel insisted quickly, a real look of panic on her face as she thought the girl in front of her was about to have a mood swing and the victim would be her. Suddenly the bruise that had faded from her arm throbbed slightly.

  
“I should have known!” Santana said with a sense of disbelief and anger mixing into her tone.

  
“Santana please. I promise I didn’t!” She reached out now, placing a hand on Santana’s arm. She took the risk; almost sure Santana would not harm her again. “I’ve watched porn before, you know? Straight, gay, both with just girls or just guys. I know what it all looks like, how it all works, and although I get slightly aroused nothing really made me feel like what I felt when I saw you and Brittany. I couldn’t take my eyes off it-“

  
Santana huffed at that, her patience was being worn thin and Rachel quickly decided to get to her point.

  
“I just mean…” Rachel sighed, letting her hand fall away from Santana’s arm, folding it across her chest “That is all that I am interested in now. It felt right to see. It’s completely creepy and perverted from your point of view I’m sure but for me it was beautiful. It wasn’t like I was watching porn. I was watching something I wanted in my life. Like when I first saw Funny Girl and knew I wanted to do that with my life. It was the same sort of feeling I got. I knew I was meant for that.”

  
Strangely enough, the more Rachel spoke, the more Santana understood. It was a realization and acceptance that she had only just recently come to terms with. Again, Rachel made something look so easy. She wished she could be upset with the girl but honestly her heart melted a little and again, just like on the bed earlier in the day, she felt like she had grown closer to a girl whom she seemed so different from not too long ago. There was a bond there that was unexpected yet comfortable.    
  
“I get what you mean” Santana finally said with a soft smile on her lips. Before she had just thought Rachel was annoying and now she saw herself in the starlet more and more.

  
Rachel returned the smile and stepped closer to the girl now that she didn’t fear for her well being. “I look up to you. You’re strong and brave and don’t let people talk down to you. I am glad that this is something we can share together now. Although you have a lot more experience than I do, which is a little bit of a role reversal but I suppose it affords me a good learning environment.”

  
Santana laughed at that, shaking her head a bit. Just when she thought Rachel was slightly sane she would say something like that. “Are you trying to tell me that you’re going to be calling me for advice when it comes to girls and sex?”

  
Rachel blushed but nodded. That was exactly her plan.

  
“Well let me give you your first little tidbit right now.” Santana smirked at her own words knowing that Rachel probably expected some graphic advice on how to go down on a girl to follow. She was tempted, but instead Santana reached out and slid her hand around the back of Rachel’s neck. She pulled her gently as she leaned in until their lips touched. It was soft, very innocent, but it was a kiss nonetheless.  She let it linger a moment and when Rachel didn’t seem to mind, Santana parted her lips and her tongue sought access into Rachel’s mouth. Without hesitation the smaller girl parted enough to allow the tongue to enter. For a moment their tongues tangled, sliding past one another to explore the unexpected depths of the other’s mouth.

 

It was a fairly short kiss and Santana was the one to break it as she pulled back slowly. A smirk was planted on her features as her tongue ran over her lips to sweep up the last taste of the stolen kiss. “There” She said with a shrug, as if it were no big deal at all “Now you know what it’s like to kiss a girl. Everything else just do on instinct.”

  
Rachel nodded but didn’t say anything. Her hand came to her mouth, fingers touching at where the slight tingle still hung on her lips. It had been unexpected but it definitely wasn’t the worst first kiss she could have imagined. 

  
Santana stepped around Rachel now, reaching for the doorknob and pulled the door open “Night, Berry. See you in a few.”

  
“Santana?” Rachel stopped her as she stepped out. The Latina glanced over her shoulder but didn’t say anything. A smile came to Rachel’s lips and she whispered “Thank you” before Santana disappeared back into the dark room, heading back to bed for a little more sleep before their big day.


	5. Chapter 5

People had more than willingly gotten up at the early call time the next morning in order to get ready for the parade and festival that day. The girls were taking longer than the guys to get ready, as was expected, but everyone was on schedule much to Rachel’s surprise. She was almost sure there would have been bickering and groaning when she had returned from the hotel gym to wake them all up but no one had argued in the slightest. It must be a sign of the day to come.   
  
Kurt was decked out in his gayest yet most fashionable outfit to date, so said Mercedes. The tight leather pants would have been distracting for anyone had it not been for his rainbow colored bowtie and matching vest over his silk button up shirt. A bright rainbow feather boa wrapped around his neck and there was no doubt the kid had come prepared to be out and proud today. He wasn’t the only one decorating himself, though. Puck had used colorful hairspray to paint his Mohawk into a rainbow and Sam had brought an old tie dyed shirt from his dad. Artie had rainbow suspenders and even wove rainbow colored streamers through the spokes on his wheels. It was nice to see that even the straight guys weren’t afraid to let loose a little.   
  
Santana took notice of how everyone seemed to dawn their best gay gear and in that moment felt stupid for thinking anyone would be able to single her out as being gay by how she had dressed that day. She had picked something she would wear on a regular basis, though some might argue her normal attire was pretty gay. A tight black skirt with knee high socks paired with a tube top that was buttoned over by a tight form fitting vest top. She definitely hadn’t come to stick out and now she feared she would. That fear was soon vanquished though as Brittany came over and offered to tie some rainbow ribbons in her hair. The ribbons were supplied by Rachel, no surprise there, her having come prepared for the festival in all aspects including attire for before, during, and after their performances.   
  
As they all finished with their last minute preparations before the parade, Mercedes the last to finish because she had trouble putting on the fake sparkly eyelashes Kurt had brought her, Rachel stood on the end of the bed and called for attention from everyone.   
  
“Glee clubbers let me just say I am proud of you all for giving up your free time and coming to support a good cause. Not only are we here to help ourselves, but your presence as well as participation in this festival shows how open and accepting glee club is. Hopefully we send a message to anyone out there too afraid to join their own glee club, or any club for that matter, in fear of being tormented or teased. We have come a long way together, found our place in this group, but we will always be outsiders and it is important that we stand up and say we are proud of that! Today is not just the celebration of gay pride, but pride in yourself. Be who you are, love who you are, and tell the world about it!”    
  
“Does she always have to make a speech?” Mercedes mumbled, but Kurt nudged her and smiled at the diva on the bed, clapping at her words.    
  
There were a few eye rolls, but the people were polite enough to clap until Rachel finally stepped down off the bed. One of Rachel’s fathers opened the door and called for them to move out. Two by two they filed out together so no one would get lost. Puck and Sam walked together followed by Kurt and Artie. One Mr. Berry brought up the rear of the pack of boys while holding hands with Rachel who lead the girls out behind her. Santana and Brittany walked arm in arm followed by Lauren and Mercedes with Rachel’s second father closing the door behind the group. They all marched together, excited, nervous, and proud. They all loved Glee club and in this moment it was obvious to anyone who might pass them.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
“But when do I get candy?” Brittany asked with a bit of a pout while Santana helped pull her onto the float. They were about ready to ride down the parade route on their float toward the main festival area. There were just a few floats ahead of them now, the parade moving in a nice even rhythm ahead of them, and a shout of two minutes came to them on their float.   
  
“No, Britt, we throw the candy because we are in the parade.” Santana handed her a bag, trying to explain how it worked. The blonde didn’t like the idea so Santana grabbed a handful and stuffed the candy into her little purse before setting it at her feet “There. That is for later.” That seemed to appease the blonde and she took her spot beside Santana, ready for action.   
  
“Now remember to smile, wave, and use your candy sparingly. We have to make it a whole three miles so don’t run out before we get there!”   
  
“Shut up, Rachel!” Puck called with a mouthful. He was already eating the candy just to spite Rachel.   
  
“Puckerman! I told you this candy is not for you!”   
  
“I’m sorry. You want it back?” He stuck out his tongue and pulled out a wad of candy that had been chewed to an unrecognizable blob of color.   
  
Rachel scrunched her nose and shook her head, rolling her eyes and looking away as Puck and Lauren snickered while high fiving each other.   
  
“Santana” Rachel said softly from her spot on the float that was slightly higher than Santana’s but a lot closer. She knelt in her spot so she could be closer as she whispered “Are you excited?”   
  
Santana looked around her quickly to see if anyone had heard the question. It was a pretty normal question, there was nothing gay about it, but her panic was still on high alert.   
  
“Yeah, sure.” She said with a smile after she was sure the coast was clear.   
  
“Good. Have fun.” Rachel popped back to standing, a smile on her lips. The float jerked forward, signaling that it was their turn now. Immediately their music kicked on, a mash up of Pride by U2 and Love is Free by Sheryl Crow. They had recorded it a week before and were supposed to sing along with it but most of them would be too distracted by waving, throwing, and eating candy to do too much singing.   
  
As soon as that float pulled out of the little garage it had been parked in and the crowd roared with excitement, nothing else seemed to matter. Santana was almost in awe of all the people cheering and more importantly supporting them. Whether it was Glee or gay, there were people who didn’t seem to care, they just loved. Why was Santana so afraid to come out when there were so many strangers in the world seemingly ready to catch her, love her, and accept her for who she was? Surely her friends and loved ones would support her just the same, right?   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
It was finally lunch time and though it was only noon most of the group was exhausted. They had been up since about six that morning and been going nonstop. Between the parade and the performances most of them were ready to pass out and sleep for three days straight. But they still had three hours of performing left so they needed to refuel and relax during their two hour long lunch break if they had any hopes of making it through the day alive.   
  
They sat in grass under the shade of one of the huge trees that were spread all around the park where the festival had been set up. At one end were the performance stages, the other end offered entertainment in the form of a beer garden and food vendors of all types. Between the two ends of the park were countless booths lined up end to end. They were booths for local businesses, groups that supported gay rights, churches who accepted all lifestyles without judgment, radio stations, homemade candles, toys, games, a booth with free on the spot H.I.V. testing and information, and even a booth that was giving out free condoms to promote safe sex. 

Puck and Lauren were already whispering about how to sneak off and try to get into the beer garden for a few rounds before they had to return. Artie was with Sam, Mercedes, and Kurt plotting out their path through the booths so they could see as much as they could before they had to return to perform. Brittany was lying on her stomach, her head propped up on her hands and her feet kicking a bit as she people watched all around her. Santana had an empty plate in her lap, one hand on the grass to hold herself up, and her legs stretched out in front of her with her ankles crossed. Her eyes darted this way and that, much like Brittany’s, taking it all in.   
  
“You want to go collect some stickers and key chains and pens and stuff?” Rachel asked from behind Santana and Brittany. The blonde immediately smiled and rolled over, looking at Rachel with a quick nod of her head.   
  
“I love things like that! Do people just give them away here?”   
  
“Yep! You just go booth to booth looking at whatever they have to offer. Some have games, some have information about various things, some are just retail vendors but a lot of the time they have little things, little knick knacks and what not to draw you over so you talk to them.”   
  
“Oh San, let’s go! I want to see what the clown is doing!” Brittany pointed across the grass to a booth surrounded by kids. There was a rainbow dressed clown inside making balloon animals and doing magic tricks.    
  
The innocence of her friend always brought a smile to her face and she nodded “Sure why not.” Clowns didn’t scream lesbian right? She got to her feet, brushed off the back of her legs, tossed her plate into a nearby trash then offered her hand to Brittany to help her up.   
  
“Your dads won’t mind if we go look around?” Santana asked as she brushed off Brittany’s back now, a few sticks having gathered in her hair when she rolled over.   
  
“Nope. They suggested I come over here and encourage you all to go look. They said education is enrichment for the soul!”   
  
“Of course” Santana mumbled, her hand sliding around Brittany’s forearm now as they headed toward the clown.   
  
Seeing them get up to start exploring prompted Kurt’s group to do the same, festival lay out in hand, they were off to their first destination. Puck and Lauren had disappeared somewhere between Brittany rolling over and Santana picking sticks from her hair.   
  
“You coming Berry?” Santana asked with a smile, waving her hand to motion that the girl should follow. More than pleased with the invite to tag along, she hurried up alongside Santana and the three of them blazed a path toward the clown.   
  
Brittany was nearly bouncing out of her shoes as she stood in line to see the clown. It was hot outside and Santana was thankful that this booth had shade. That didn’t stop a light sweat from forming on her forehead and she sighed wishing she was backstage of their little performance stage where they had huge fans to keep them cool.   
  
Rachel stood by quietly. Though she had been to many festivals in her time, her eyes were still darting this way and that, taking in the scenery around her. This year the festival meant more to her, in a lot of ways, and she wanted to take it all in.   
  
“I am going to go get us some water” Rachel said suddenly. She had noticed both Santana and Brittany starting to sweat. She had felt the heat of the day herself and decided they should stay hydrated to help them perform later. She quickly walked off in the direction of a nearby booth selling ice cold water.   
  
“I want a snake!” Brittany said excitedly when the clown asked her what kind of animal she wanted. The clown looked at her almost dumbfounded, studying her to determine whether or not she was serious.    
  
Always quick to defend her friend, Santana nodded her head “You heard her. Give her a snake.”   
  
Still a bit confused, and wary that he was being fooled with, the clown blew up the pink balloon Brittany had picked and made a snake. Basically he just drew a face on the end of the balloon once it was full of air.   
  
“How about you?” The clown asked Santana, who immediately shook her head.    
  
“San, get something!” Brittany whined before looking at her snake and making a hissing noise.   
  
“Fine. Um give me a flower I guess. Pink.” Santana shrugged then looked away. She didn’t really want the balloon but there was that inability to say no to Brittany again.   
  
The clown finished quickly with the  [ pink ](http://captainpezberry.livejournal.com/1632.html)  flower and Santana thanked him with a half smile before she tugged Brittany out of line and around toward a tree with shade. “Let’s wait for Rach-“   
  
“I’m right here!” Rachel’s voice rang out as she approached with three water bottles. “I wanted to wait until you were done so it didn’t look like I was trying to cut in line. Here,” She handed the girls each a water bottle before taking a sip from her own.   
  
Brittany was quick to drink down half of hers and Santana took a few refreshing swallows herself. The cold of the water instantly helped and the heat didn’t seem so bad.   
  
“Oh pretty flower!” Rachel said, motioning to the balloon that Santana held in her hand. The Latina looked down at it, perking an eyebrow slightly. What was so pretty about it? It was just a freaking balloon.   
  
“Here” Santana said with a smirk, handing over the flower to Rachel now “I got it for you.”   
  
“Santana that was so nice of you!” Brittany said with a smile before reaching her snake out to touch his head to the flower part of the balloon in Rachel’s hand “Look, we match. Both pink.”   
  
Rachel smiled at Santana. Even if she hadn’t intended it to be, the gesture was definitely sweet and Rachel couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t exactly an empty gesture. But she wouldn’t say so right now.   
  
“Oh, cute!” She giggled in response to Brittany pointing out that they matched.   
  
“Whatever. What’s next?” Santana asked with a huff, trying to seem uninterested but really she was growing a little anxious to see a few more booths and do a lot more people watching as they walked around.   
  
“I think I saw a Breadstix booth just up ahead” Rachel said and before she could point, Santana had grabbed her arm along with Brittany’s and started tugging them that way. The three of them spent the next twenty minutes trying to win the ring toss game; the prize was a gift certificate for dinner for two.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
The second half of the performance had gone off without a hitch. The boys had all grouped together to do a playful number to Right Said Fred’s “I’m too Sexy”, a number that was a real crowd pleaser. After that the ladies did their rendition of “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls. Kurt then got to solo, choosing to go with “I’m Coming Out” by Diana Ross. Mercedes and Sam followed with a duet of “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. Lauren, Puck, Artie, and Brittany all worked together on another obvious crowd pleaser, going with “Y.M.C.A.” followed by Santana’s turn to solo. She hadn’t picked a song and had spent most of the other numbers flipping through Rachel’s sheet music of choice songs until she found one she knew all of the words to. 

She eventually settled on “Believe” by Cher and went on without any practice. Surprisingly enough she knocked it dead and the crowd were on their feet by the end of it. As she came off the stage, everyone was clapping for her backstage, along with the audience. Santana actually blushed a bit at the sudden uproar of recognition from her peers. As they all congratulated her one by one she grew more and more speechless. It was just a song. It wasn’t even her first choice but it was the first one she could have done on the fly so she had gone with it.   
  
“That was so beautiful, San” Brittany said with a proud smile as her arms were thrown around her best friend’s neck in a tight and excited hug. The blonde girl bounced as she hugged Santana.    
  
“It was nothing” Santana whispered softly, her arms sliding around the thinner girl’s waist and giving her a tight hug. She didn’t care why, all she cared was the girl was hugging her. Her body was suddenly intoxicated with the sensation of Brittany pressed against her. She could feel Brittany’s breasts press into her chest, the way her tight stomach rest against her own. Her hands came to rest against Brittany’s thin hips and she had to fight the urge to let her hands slide down further to soak in the feel of her firm ass.   
  
“I am so proud of you. Everyone loved you!” Brittany smiled and pulled away just enough to look at her friend which broke Santana out of her trance that Britt’s body had put her in. Her bright smile was hard to deny and Santana just laughed shyly at the praise as her hands dropped from the blonde’s body so she wouldn’t have to fight the urge to let them wander all over her body right then and there.   
  
“I just wanted to make sure I didn’t mess up.” Santana said with a shrug. It might be the most humble anyone had ever seen her.   
  
“I loved it! You should get more solos next year. I am going to tell Mr. Shue.” Brittany gave her friend another hug.   
  
“She’s right it was incredible” Rachel had been standing back as the group thinned, her solo was up next and she was preparing but she couldn’t go on without telling Santana how amazing she had been.   
  
Santana glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the voice and a genuine smile came to her lips. “Thanks, Berry.”   
  
Rachel nodded, her smile holding as she locked eyes with Santana. Again in that moment they shared a silent understanding and appreciation for one another.    
  
Then Rachel was being cued to the stage and the brunette starlet turned and headed toward the steps of the stage. Immediately she was in show mode, ready to make the crowd hang on her every last note.   
  
Rachel had chosen the musical classic from La Caga aux folles “I am what I am” and in true Rachel Berry fashion had knocked the crowd dead as she belted it out with perfect pitch, harmony, and emotion. The crowd had erupted into a mass of cheers and applause as she hit the last note and she took her time to bow and blow kisses to the crowd. She sure knew how to put on a show.   
  
As she finished up and stood center stage soaking in the applause, the rest of the group joined her and as the notes started for their final number, the crowd only got louder. There was hardly a person in the crowd that didn’t sing along as the group danced and sang their way loudly and proudly through Sister Sledge’s “We are family.”   
  
As the number had come to a close, the crowd had grown and were all dancing and singing along. Even as the music ended, the dancing and singing continued. The group on stage huffed and puffed as they took their bows and soaked in the applause. Standing there watching an entire crowd of people banning together to celebrate one another was beautiful and Santana had to wipe a tear from her eye. Luckily no one saw.


	6. Chapter 6

"$4,582" Rachel said proudly as she looked over her group of friend that was spread out amongst the room. They had all been ushered back to their hotel rooms by the Berrys shortly after their last performance. They had all been pumped, wanting to go out and celebrate, but Rachel’s fathers would not allow them to just wander around the town at night with who knew how many parties going on. They didn’t want to risk the children getting lost, or worse, partaking in underage drinking.   
  
“So how much of that is my cut?” Puck asked with a little smirk, glancing at Lauren “I’m gonna take my girl and buy her something nice.”   
  
“Puck!” Rachel spat the word harshly which caused he and Lauren to laugh loudly. Mercedes, Sam, and Artie all laughed as well, though hid it so she wouldn’t snap at them too. It was hilarious to see Puck get under Rachel’s skin so easily but none of them wanted her wrath willingly coming down on them.   
  
“As I was saying” Rachel said with a roll of her eyes and a flick of her hair “We’ve made a huge step in our fundraising efforts for Glee club. This next year is going to be more memorable and more incredible than before and it is all thanks to you guys. Give yourself a hand!” Rachel started clapping quickly and didn’t stop until a few others joined in with some applause. Brittany jumped in right away, bouncing on the bed and clapping, Kurt was right behind her in his applause. The rest of the group slowly added a few claps before finally they died down.   
  
Suddenly one of Rachel’s fathers appeared in the doorway that leads to their conjoining room. He congratulated them all on a job well done today and said how proud he was to be their chaperone for such an amazing and talented group of young men and women. As a reward he was going to allow the two groups to mingle back and forth between the boys’ and girls’ room until midnight that night. 

At first the offer got only a few sarcastic celebrations and claps, but as he continued explaining that he and his husband were going to go to an adult party in the hotel’s lobby, thus leaving the kids unattended and Rachel in charge, a few more people clapped with more enthusiasm. He warned that anyone caught sneaking out of the room would be isolated and their parents called, but no one seemed to hear that part as they all started chatting excitedly.   
  
Before leaving for the party, the men allowed each glee club member take a trip down to the end of the hall to the vending machine area if they wanted. They didn’t want to rack up a room service bill and they knew the kids would need snacks and drinks for the night.    
  
One by one they took a trip down the hall until everyone was back in the rooms and satisfied with their goods for the night. Reminding everyone that Rachel was in charge and she was to call if it got out of control, the men kissed their daughter’s forehead and bid the group farewell before leaving to do a little celebrating of their own.

  
No sooner had the door closed than Puck was racing over to latch the chain. He put his ear against the door, listening through it and once he was sure the men had left their floor, he grinned ear to ear and went back to his bag.    
  
“Now the real party can begin” Puck pulled out a couple bottles of liquor and everyone cheered. Everyone but Rachel.   
  
“Puck where did you get those? You heard my father, no funny business!” She already had her cellphone out, ready to dial her father.   
  
“Lighten up, Berry. Remember the fun we had at your house?” Santana piped up quickly, going over to the shorter girl and putting her hand over her phone before turning to look at Puck who smiled widely as he realized Santana was on board.   
  
“I swiped them from the bar when we got back to the hotel. I saw them setting up for the party, told them I was the hired help and when they told me to go set up the chairs I snuck behind the bar and swiped them.” He shrugged before setting the bottles on one of the dressers that were in the room.    
  
The group descended quickly on the alcohol, shots being poured for everyone who wanted one.   
  
Santana lingered back as the group gathered around Puck. Her eyes shifted to Rachel and she nodded slightly at the girl “If it gets out of hand I will help you put a stop to it. But we’ve all worked hard, Rach, let’s have a little fun.”   
  
Rachel’s face was twisted in worry for a moment, her chewing her lower lip as she looked over the group that were already cheering and chatting loudly in excitement. They really had worked hard. After a moment, her face softened and she looked back to Santana “Deal. Now let’s have some fun.”   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Much like the Rachel Berry house party, this party went from zero to sixty fairly quickly and soon everyone was dancing, singing, laughing, and all around enjoying their time. Puck had hi-jacked Artie’s wheelchair and Kurt’s feather boa and was having Sam push him from room to room while pretending to be a race car. Artie was sprawled out on one of the beds laughing hysterically every time Sam would stop suddenly and Puck would nearly fly out of the chair. 

Kurt and Mercedes were laughing about something on his phone, a video clip that Blaine had sent him earlier apparently. Brittany had Lauren sitting on the floor between her legs as she sat on the bed behind her, braiding her hair and telling a story about the time she once tried to give Lord Tubbington corn rows. Everyone was having a great time and though a bit loud, it was under control. No one had even broken anything except when Sam stepped on Kurt’s chips but that didn’t really count.   
  
Santana had been playing judge for Sam and Puck’s little race around the rooms but she had grown bored and plopped herself behind Brittany on the bed as she did Lauren’s hair. She had a handful of the blonde’s hair and was brushing it gently as she just listened to her friend tell the story of her beloved pet.   
  
Suddenly Rachel was plopping down beside her on her stomach, a soft giggle escaping and when Santana looked over it was obvious that Rachel had drank a little too much.   
  
“For someone who was so against this party you sure let yourself loose” Santana said with a laugh as Rachel went to lay her head on her hand but missed and her head fell forward and almost hit into the mattress. This only caused the smaller girl to laugh a bit more.   
  
“Here!” Rachel said excitedly as she lifted her other hand and extended the small shot glass toward Santana.    
  
At first the Latina didn’t take it. She already had a pretty good buzz going and she didn’t want to be hung over for the drive home but as Rachel’s hand pushed closer and closer until the glass was almost pressed to her lips she thought what the Hell and grabbed it, tossing back the shot without even wincing.   
  
“Will you do me Santana?” Rachel asked as she sat up, grinning from ear to ear as she looked at the girl expectantly.   
  
Santana’s eyes went wide and her face flushed a little. What the Hell? She knew alcohol tends to loosen people up but it turned Rachel into a downright floozy!   
  
“My hair!” Rachel said with a laugh, turning her head to show Santana her ponytail, swishing it back and forth quickly “Will you do my hair?”

  
“Oh!” Santana’s heart had stopped, she was sure of it, but at the clarification she just laughed out and let go of Brittany’s long hair “Sure. Come here.”   
  
She shifted so her legs were hanging off the edge of the bed, patting the space between her legs for Rachel to go ahead and sit down. Rachel did so quickly, well as quickly as she could after stumbling over herself, and Santana immediately pulled at the tie holding up all the hair to let it loose now so she could work with it properly.   
  
“What do you want? Braids or one big braid or a French braid? I can just brush if you want?”    
  
Rachel shrugged, humming a bit as she swayed back and forth happily where she sat “Surprise me.”   
  
Santana rolled her eyes and reached for the brush. If she was going to do anything she needed to smooth out this mess of hair that had been pulled up all day.   
  
She took her time to run the brush through the long brown hair in her hands. Each stroke of the brush made the hair softer and softer, almost like silk, and Santana realized just how much care Rachel obviously put into her hair. It even smelled nice after being up and probably sweaty all day long. What was that smell? Leaning in she took a sniff and immediately it hit her. She uses the same shampoo as Brittany. The scent made her gut tense and a tingle move through her legs to her toes. Damn it why did scent have to be so strongly tied to memories? Now all she could think about was long hair on the pillow next to her in the morning that scents filling her nose first thing when she woke up.   
  
“Santana” Rachel mumbled quickly, urgently, the sound pulling her from the memories that had been playing in her head at that moment.   
  
“Hmm?” Santana replied, trying to seem casual.   
  
“I think I’m going to be sick” Rachel replied quickly. Before Santana could respond Rachel was climbing to her feet, grabbing Santana’s wrist with one hand as the other covered her mouth. She hurried the two girls through their room and into her fathers’ room as the crowd booed and made teasing remarks about Rachel being a party pooper for being the first to puke. 

Rachel hardly noticed though. Her goal was to get to the bathroom in the room. It was the least populated and she would have the most privacy when her stomach decided to erupt. Santana was just kind of along for the ride by this time because the grip Rachel had on her wrist would probably tear her arm out if she tried to pull away.   
  
“Hey just take a breath” Santana said as the shorter girl finally let go of her arm only to slide in front of the toilet and bend over it quickly. Santana pushed the door closed to afford the girl some privacy. She actually felt bad. She had been there a few times herself and it was not fun.   
  
But nothing happened. Rachel sat hunched over the toilet as waves of nausea came and went. She gagged a few times but she never really managed to vomit. Santana had moved to kneel next to her, holding her hair back and even offering a few soothing passes of her hand along her back in hopes that it would help.   
  
After about twenty minutes of an anti-climatic huddle around the toilet, Rachel finally lifted her head to look at her friend that was beside her. She looked terrible but managed to smile at her.   
  
“I think I just needed to lay my head down and get out of the noise. I feel a lot better now.”   
  
“Good. Puking totally stinks” Santana said softly glad to see that her friend had managed to pull through without having to hurl her guts out. It really was the worst sensation in the world.   
  
“Thanks” Rachel said softly as she pushed her hair off her face and started to get to her feet. Even though she hadn’t puked, she moved to the sink to wash her hands and face. Bathrooms were dirty and the water on her face would help keep her nausea down.    
  
“No problem. You kind of had a death grip on my arm so I had no choice” Santana answered with a laugh as she got up from her knees, leaning her hip against the counter top as she watched Rachel at the sink “But really it was no big deal. I’ve been there. It’s nice to have someone there to help.”   
  
“Either way it means a lot.” Rachel said with a smile, grabbing a towel now and drying off her hands and face before hanging it back onto the hook she had found it on. “No one else would have done that for me.”   
  
Santana just shrugged a little at that. It was probably true. Though everyone with the exception of Puck weren’t usually cruel people they weren’t always the kindest either and they would have probably let her puke alone.   
  
There was a moment of slightly awkward silence where the two girls just kind of looked at one another. It wasn’t like when they caught eyes and they had that little moment of silent understanding. This was more like they didn’t know what next. Rachel wasn’t exactly in the mood to rejoin the group just yet and Santana definitely didn’t want to leave her just in case she did end up getting sick. So they just kind of stood there in silence for a long moment.   
  
“So” Rachel finally spoke up, turning now to pull herself up and sit on the counter with her back to the mirror. She looked at Santana with a smile and lifted her shoulders in a shrug “You really did great today. Not just the song but in general. I only saw you looking a little overwhelmed a few times. I honestly thought you would have made an excuse to leave and come back to the room early but you made it all the way through.”   
  
Santana laughed a little bit at that. It wasn’t amusement, not really. It was funny that Rachel cared so much but not humorous. Ironic, maybe? Just funny in some way.    
  
Rachel shrugged at the lack of response, looking now at her hands as she spoke again “I’m proud of you. Even though nobody knows, it still must have been hard for you to be here surrounded by gay and lesbian people and you worried that your closest friends would figure it out. I can’t imagine you want to be outed that way. I respect that and I commend you for sticking it out all day. Like I said, you hide it well. I don’t think anyone knows.”   
  
Santana just nodded. Her eyes were at her feet now. Even though Rachel knew her biggest secret it was still hard to look at her and share that eye contact in moments like this. Moments where it was getting a little too personal, too close for comfort. So she just nodded.   
  
Sensing she was making Santana uncomfortable, she quickly cleared her throat and pushed some hair behind her ear “I was hoping that my dads would let us go to one of the parties tonight. I wanted to experience my first random make out session with a stranger!” She laughed a little bit hoping that it had lightened the mood.   
  
It had and Santana let out a laugh, lifting her head now to look at Rachel “Your dads totally cock blocked you and they don’t even know it.”   
  
“I know” Rachel said with an exaggerated eye roll and a little giggle. In reality she wasn’t upset. She had been having a good time that night in the room up until she thought she was going to hurl all over.   
  
“We could always just make out.” Santana said with a little smirk. She was kidding, mostly. She just wanted to keep with the joking they had going on in the moment.    
  
“Really?” Rachel asked quickly, a little too quickly and she immediately laughed and shook her head, not wanting to seem eager so she added “Oh I see. Taking pity on me huh?”   
  
Santana perked an eyebrow and though she had been joking, she wasn’t sure Rachel was, so she wanted to push a little to see exactly how far Rachel would go. She turned now and slid herself down the counter until her hip rest right against Rachel’s leg that dangled from where she sat. She lightly set her hand on Rachel’s leg and smirked a bit as she whispered “You worked so hard you deserve a little thank you.”   
  
Rachel swallowed so loudly she was sure Santana heard it. Suddenly the joking had not been so funny and had actually become intriguing. Maybe it was the alcohol coursing through her veins but Rachel couldn’t find the will to say no to the offer. “Well if you insist.”   
  
Impressed by the sudden nerve that Rachel possessed, and maybe urged on by the alcohol pumping through her body, Santana licked her lips and leaned in toward Rachel slowly. Her eyes locked with the starlet on the counter, unblinking as she leaned in inch by inch.    
  
It was almost like a game of chicken. They were staring one another down, waiting for the other to move first, thus naming a winner.    
  
Neither of them moved, though.    
  
Unwilling to back down now, Santana pushed forward until her lips were pressed against Rachel’s firmly. It was an easy task; they were practically the same height now with Rachel perched on the counter in the bathroom.   
As soon as their lips touched, Rachel’s eyes closed and she pushed right back against Santana in a silent way of telling her she was not backing down even though their lips were now touching and the game of chicken should have been over. It wasn’t though and the two of them used their lips to tell the other that it was still game on.   
  
Santana was always one for a challenge and she took the next step. She lifted her hand behind Rachel’s head, fingers threading through the silky long locks she had been playing with earlier as she pulled her head closer to her causing their lips to press more tightly together. They were pressed together so tightly now that it was impossible for them to get any closer and the only thing to do now was part her lips, so that’s what she did. She tilted her head to the side and let her lips come open, her tongue snaked out and slid over Rachel’s bottom lip slowly, daring the starlet to either stop her or accept her challenge.   
  
A moan came from Rachel’s mouth at the feel of the tongue requesting access to her mouth. It was not a moan of protest though and before she could really think about it her lips were cracking and letting Santana’s tongue in to explore.    
  
Explore was exactly what Santana did. She slipped her tongue right into Rachel’s mouth and immediately went about prodding and sweeping it about, discovering the caverns that Rachel’s mouth held, collecting the taste of her kiss.   
  
Not one to sit idly by, Rachel’s tongue was soon sweeping over Santana’s then past it and into the Latina’s mouth. Hands lifted to grip lightly at Santana’s shoulders, pulling her to keep her right there against her now as the kiss quickly grew more heated by the moment.   
  
The fact that Rachel wasn’t backing down did something to Santana that she couldn’t explain. The way Rachel’s tongue moved and played with her own and her hands pulled at her shoulders sent a shiver along her spine, igniting a sensation that she would have never expected. She felt a twitch between her legs, a tingle that had solely belonged to Brittany before this moment.   
  
“I…” Santana pulled back quickly when she realized what was going on. Rachel Berry was turning her on in a way that only Brittany could do. “I can’t do this” She breathed out heavily, licking her lips as she looked at the girl on the counter.   
  
Rachel immediately looked wounded, like she had done something wrong, and she quickly nodded her head and took a breath “I’m sorry.”   
  
Somehow that looked reminded her of Brittany. The pitiful puppy dog look. It looked as if she had been kicked. It was the same look Brittany got when she had been confused and someone had laughed instead of explained to her what she didn’t understand. It was the look Brittany got when she was trying to figure something out.    
  
“No I’m sorry” Santana said with a quick shake of her head, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly as she looked up at Rachel. She couldn’t shake it. She looked away and blinked a few times before glancing back to Rachel. This time, for a split second, she saw Brittany sitting on the counter. Her gut wrenched and a frown crossed her features. Before she could help it her hand was lifting to touch Rachel’s cheek, brushing a few loose hairs from her face “You’re beautiful.”   
  
The words slipped out without her realizing it and it showed how unexpected they had been when Rachel’s eyes went wide and then she blushed. She smiled softly and tried to shake her head but the motion failed as her dark brown eyes caught Santana’s gaze and once more they were locked in one of those silent stares.   
  
The longer Santana stared, the less restraint she had and eventually her hand dropped to grip Rachel’s hip, pulling her to the very edge of the counter. She stepped between her smaller girl’s thighs and her lips once more slammed into Rachel’s for a kiss.   
  
Rachel was a little caught off guard but she didn’t hesitate to return the kiss. It was more passionate than the last and her grip on Santana’s shoulders tightened as she pulled the girl closer, wanting to press herself against the Latina now.   
  
They sat there just kissing for only a moment before Santana’s lips were on the move. She kissed down along Rachel’s neck line quickly, taking the taste of her sweet skin for the first time and immediately she was intoxicated by the taste. The more her tongue lapped up, the more she wanted and soon she was acting like a rabid animal leaving little bites here and there with each new taste of her flesh.   
  
Santana’s fingers were pushing at the night shirt that Rachel wore now, inching the material up until it bunched under the girl’s arms. She didn’t want for her to take it off and didn’t really care if she did. Her fingers had exposed some skin and now she wanted to explore it. Her touch was quick but soft. She felt Rachel’s muscles tense in her stomach as her fingertips moved over her body but the moans that rose from her throat gave Santana encouragement to keep going.   
  
Rachel reached down and grabbed the edge of the shirt that had been moved up her body and without thinking twice about it, she pulled it off her head and tossed it behind Santana before looking down to watch the way the Latina explored her skin, glad that she had chosen not to wear a bra for the evening once they had all settled in for the night.   
  
A smile spread over Santana’s lips when Rachel took the shirt off, silently offering her body to her now. She didn’t hesitate to take advantage of the offer, a hand quickly coming up to cup at one of her small but pert breasts. Her thumb immediately sought out her pink nipple, teasing the lifted pink flesh with a few brushes back and forth with her digit.    
  
The moan that rose from Rachel’s lips was a sound she had never made before. Even when Finn had touched her breasts it hadn’t felt this good. This was something on a whole new level and she wanted more.   
  
More was exactly what Santana had in mind and soon her lips were replacing the thumb against her nipple. She rolled her tongue around the hardened bit, giving soft sucks between lashings of her tongue.    
  
Rachel’s back arched, her head fell back against the mirror, and her body trembled. There was no way to deny just how good it felt.   
  
Each noise and reaction the girl gave her spurred Santana forward and soon her fingers were pushing between Rachel’s legs, fingers pressed against the material of the shorts the girl wore. She was pleased to find the material there soaked through to the touch.    
  
Rachel didn’t shy from the touch but instead her legs spread wider, inviting Santana to explore as she pleased.   
  
“Mmm Berry you’re so wet.” Santana mumbled as her mouth slipped from one breast and moved over to the other, taking that nipple into her mouth now as she went to work teasing and tormenting with her teeth and tongue again.   
  
“Oh my god” Rachel whispered as her hand lifted to the back of Santana’s head, begging her mouth to keep up with the work it was doing there.    
  
Fingers slipped into the side of Rachel’s shorts now. Immediately they were greeted with a pool of excited heat that slickened Santana’s very touch. Up and down her fingers slid easily along the hot folds, teasing around her entrance before pulling her hand away completely.   
  
A gasp was heard from Rachel and her eyes shot open, looking at Santana with a pleading stare.   
  
She didn’t have to speak, Santana had already pulled back enough to work the tiny shorts off Rachel’s waist, waiting for a lift of her ass before finally she pushed the material down her legs to drop to the floor.   
  
“Please” Rachel’s voice trembled as she sat naked now in front of someone for the first time in her life. She had no reservations, though. As nervous as she thought she might be, there was nothing but need filling her now. Drunk or not, it felt right and there was nothing she wanted more.   
  
Santana stepped back between her legs, her hand reaching out and once more her fingers found the slippery heat between Rachel’s thighs. Once more her hand made teasing passes up and down her soaked folds, teasing with little pushes against her opening before pulling away to slide back up her slit. Her thumb found Rachel’s hot, perked clit now and she started to work it in soft circle. Nothing too much to overwhelm the girl, not just yet, but enough to elicit a few moans from the girl and Rachel didn’t fail to deliver.   
  
She was about to dive her fingers within the smaller girl when she remembered she was a virgin. She paused a moment and looked up at Rachel now, a deep breath being pulled into her lungs as she hesitated.   
  
As if reading her mind, Rachel opened her eyes and looked at the girl with a soft smiled “Please, Santana. It’s not like I’ve never fingered myself before. Please.” She bit her bottom lip now as her tone went from hungry to pleading and she whispered “Take me.”   
  
So help her god if that wasn’t the sexiest damn thing she had ever seen and heard in her life. It was all she needed. Her hand curled against Rachel and she plunged two fingers deep into her heat.    
  
The suddenness of being entered caused Rachel to gasp but she didn’t show signs of wanting Santana to stop.   
It was a good thing too because once Santana got going it was hard to stop her. Her fingers were starting to move faster with each thrust inside. Each jerk of Rachel’s body drew more force from Santana the next time she pushed inside her.   
  
“Oh my god” Rachel mumbled again. Her hands had moved now to grip the edge of the counter and she had pushed herself up, her hips lifted from her sitting position and she was rolling her hips against Santana’s hand every time the Latina thrust her hand forward.   
  
The movement pulled Santana’s fingers deeper each time and now her fingers curled up as she pulled her hand back, fingertips pushing right into Rachel’s g spot with each movement of her wrist now. The more her hand moved, the wetter it got. It was as if each new touch was turning Rachel on more and more. Santana didn’t want to stop. She wanted to see how wet she could get so her fingers dove up and in over and over again.   
  
As quiet as Rachel had been trying to be before now, she was unable to keep that mentality as she felt her entire body clench and jerk around Santana’s fingers. Whatever spot she had just found was one she had never managed to stumble upon whenever she had pleased herself and it was fucking fantastic.   
  
“Just like that. Don’t stop, Santana” Her words came out in pants now, her body still rocking into each movement of Santana’s hand.    
  
Watching Rachel’s body writhe before her had caused her to soak through her own shorts. It was one of the sexiest things she had ever witnessed. She would make Rachel take care of that later, but right now all she could think about was making her come and come hard.   
  
As her fingers curled up into Rachel again, Santana’s thumb found Rachel’s clit once more and pressed against it more firmly that before. She worked it back and forth in time with the thrusts of her hand. She would not stop until she knew the girl was weak in the knees.   
  
“San….San…I…” Rachel could only pant now until finally she gave up with words all together and just moaned with each thrust of her body until suddenly her stomach knotted up and she felt her thighs tremble around Santana’s fingers.   
  
Santana felt Rachel clench around her fingers tightly, maybe more tightly than she had ever felt. Her fingers continued to move through the tightened walls until she was sure that every last wave of pleasure had been ridden out by Rachel.    
  
Slowly the girl came to rest against the counter again. Her head rolled back against the mirror and her body fell weak against the surface. Rachel’s chest heaved up and down quickly and her legs continued to tremble slightly every couple of seconds.   
  
Santana slowly licked her lips as her hand was removed from within Rachel. She stepped closer once more and her arms looped around her waist in an attempt to hold the girl as she recovered. She even leaned in and pressed a few short but sweet kisses to her mouth, neck, and shoulder as Rachel continued to gasp for air.

  
They stayed like that, listening to just the sound of Rachel catching her breath for a long time. Finally the pants fell away and breathing returned to normal. A hand lifted now and slid along Santana’s back and up into her hair before coming forward to run her fingers along her chin. She pulled her eyes up now, a smile on Rachel’s lips as their gazes met once more.   
  
“Oh yeah, I am totally gay” Rachel whispered softly before a giggle left her lips and she touched a kiss to Santana’s forehead.   
  
Santana had to laugh at that, lifting her head now on her own to push a kiss to Rachel’s lips “If you think that was hot you should see what else I can do.”   
  
Rachel smirked just slightly but shook her head as she took in another deep breath “Let me catch my breath first.”   
  
Before Santana could answer there was a thundering knock at the door.    
  
“Hey did Berry puke her lungs out or what? You have been in there forever.” Puck’s voice came from the other end.    
  
“Shit” Santana mumbled and quickly pulled away from Rachel, bending over to scoop up her shorts and shirt, handing them to the still weak and trembling starlet on the bathroom counter.    
  
“She’s almost done. I think I saw a boot!” Santana replied with a forced laugh, trying to play it cool as she looked at Rachel with wide eyes, silently telling her to get dressed.   
  
“Well hurry up. We should get her to bed before her dads come back. It’s nearly midnight. I cleaned everything else up.”   
  
“Cool. We will be out in a second.” Santana said quickly, sighing softly as she put her face in her hand. She realized she had just pushed her face into a nice collection of Rachel’s juices on her palm and she quickly pulled her hand away to look at it. “Shit” she whispered, a laugh erupting from her lips.   
  
Rachel giggled at her as well once she noticed what she had done. She pulled the shirt over her head then hopped down from the counter to pull her shorts up her legs one at a time.   
  
“You might want to wash up.” Rachel whispered to her before reaching for the door to unlock it. “Hurry up. If we get caught my dad will never trust me in charge again.”    
  
She pulled the door open and looked back to Santana as she stepped out of the room. Once more their eyes locked and there it was again, the silent understanding between them. Rachel smiled when she saw Santana seemed to be thinking the same thing she was. This would never leave the bathroom. No one would ever know. She gave a single nod to Santana before leaving the bathroom, letting the Latina wash up.


	7. Chapter 7

"San, breakfast!" Brittany’s voice broke through like a drill to the skull. Santana’s head was buried between two pillows, hiding from the light and the noise that was filling the room that morning. 

The group had all been up and gotten ready and now they were heading to breakfast before their trip back home. But the pounding in Santa’s skull left her with no desire to eat. She must have consumed more alcohol than she thought the night before because right now it felt like she had been hit by a truck.   
  
“Not hungry” Santana whispered with a slight groan in her voice before turning her head and pulling the pillow more tightly around her eyes and ears. Make it go away, she thought. Everyone needs to shut the Hell up and go the Hell away. She would forego eating if that meant she got another hour to sleep off the hangover she had tried to avoid without much success.   
  
Deciding not to push the subject Brittany just told the group to go on ahead. She had seen Santana hung over more times than anyone and she knew just leaving her alone was the safest bet for anyone.   
  
The group slowly left the room and as the sounds faded away Santana sighed. The pounding in her head was subsiding the further and further she drifted back to sleep in silence.    
  
~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
The next time Santana’s eyes came open she was greeted with a still empty room. She blinked a few times to try and focus. Her entire body was sore and she felt like a bomb had gone off on every nerve ending in her head. She groaned out softly as she rolled to her back now. She should start to try to get ready for the trip back right?   
  
When she rolled over she felt an arm under her back and immediately she jumped in surprise. She thought she was alone. Blinking quickly, she turned her head and came face to face with Rachel who was still sleeping beside her on the bed. Her brows creased in confusion. She was pretty sure everyone had gone to breakfast or was that an alcohol induced dream?   
  
Santana lay very still for a moment as she looked at Rachel then to the ceiling, racking her brain to try and remember the night before. It was blurry but she most definitely remembered everything clearly. She had fucked Rachel Berry in a hotel bathroom and she had enjoyed it.   
  
“Shit” Santana whispered softly, closing her eyes again as a sigh slipped from her lips. Maybe Rachel didn’t remember. That would make the trip back a lot less awkward if the other girl thought it was all a dream.   
  
Glancing at Rachel again, she bit her lip and slowly tried to slide away from the girl and out of bed. She didn’t get far though. As soon as she started to move, Rachel rolled toward her and slid her arm around her waist. Rachel’s little hand had found its way under the hem of the shirt Santana wore and was now resting against her stomach.   
  
Santana’s skin was on fire. Her gut clenched and a tingle slowly traveled from Rachel’s fingertips against her skin, down over her hips, and spreading deep between her legs. Damn her for being horny in the mornings. Maybe if she just lay still Rachel’s hand would slowly move away and she could slide off the bed and away from Rachel and the sensations that were flowing through her now.   
  
“San” Rachel whispered. Shit, now she was awake and she couldn’t escape.   
  
Faking a yawn and pretending she had just woken up herself, she kept her eyes on the ceiling.   
  
Rachel’s eyes came open and she looked at the girl next to her. A smile came to her lips when she noticed that Santana was not rushing away. She pulled herself closer to the Latina, bringing her head to rest on the same pillow now next to Santana’s ear.   
  
Santana felt Rachel’s body now pressed to her own and her hot breath against her neck. A shiver danced through her spine and her skin prickled with goosebumps. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath to try and calm her heart that was now pounding so hard she was sure Rachel could hear it.   
  
Rachel licked her lips before leaning in now to kiss just once against Santana’s neck. She was pleased when Santana not only didn’t pull away but she heard a soft sound of liking slip from her lips as well.   
  
“Do you remember last night?” Rachel whispered against Santana’s ear. The heat of her breath caused another shiver to move through Santana’s body. It was like her every nerve was on edge and she couldn’t fight her reactions no matter how hard she tried.   
  
“Uh yeah” Santana mumbled softly, still staring a hole in the ceiling so she wouldn’t have to look at Rachel. For some reason she thought if she caught the gaze of those dark brown eyes any restraint she might possess would go right out the window.   
  
Rachel giggled a little as she scooted even closer to the girl. She lifted a leg and let it slide along one of Santana’s gently. Her hand on the dark toned stomach of the Latina now moved downward slowly, her fingers dipping just under the waistband of the shorts Santana wore. 

Rachel licked her lips again, her eyes now staring with a hunger as she lifted herself over Santana enough to look down into her eyes. Try as she might, Santana couldn’t fight it and her eyes found Rachel’s. A heat rose in her body and she felt a tingle move from her toes to her thighs.   
  
“I want to say thank you” Rachel whispered softly. Her hand crept lower over Santana’s smooth mound until her fingers dipped between her folds where she was immediately greeted with a needing heat. Rachel bit her lip at the discovery, giving off a soft giggle “Feels like someone likes the idea.”   
  
Why couldn’t she say no? Why wasn’t Santana shoving Rachel off her and telling her the night before had been a mistake and they couldn’t do this? She knew she wanted to. She wanted to get as far away from Rachel as she could right now. At least that’s what she was trying to convince herself to believe. But the more Rachel touched her and the closer she pressed her body all Santana really wanted to do was feel more of it.   
  
The fact that Santana was not fighting her made Rachel smile once more. She kept her eyes locked on her pretty features as her hand moved completely into Santana’s shorts now and her fingers had full range on all of her now. Rachel leaned in to press a little kiss to the Latina’s mouth as her fingers pushed between her folds and started to explore her needing heat.    
  
Santana’s legs parted further and her back arched a bit. She moaned out softly and her eyes rolled closed. She had no idea why but the fact that Rachel was initiating and in control was sexier than she could ever explain.

  
“Well hello.” Rachel said with a little giggle as her fingers worked against the ever slickening heat between Santana’s thighs. Slowly up and down they roamed until her fingers discovered the little nub at her peak. She smirked as her fingers trapped the bundle of nerves and started to work it in tiny circles.   
  
The moan that came from Santana was one she was sure she had never made in her entire life. Her hip arched up and her hands gripped the sheets.    
  
“Oh” Rachel said with a smile, her eyes now shifting away from Santana’s face to look down at where her hand was buried inside her shorts. She watched the shape her hand made against the material with each movement of her fingers. She paid attention to every flinch Santana’s body gave and every little noise she made. Though she had touched herself plenty of times in the past this was an all new experience to her. The feel of someone else on her fingertips; it was indescribable.    
  
“Oh my god Berry just do it alright. You got me all hot last night but I did nothing about it. If you leave me hanging again today I might actually explode.” The words came from Santana’s lips before she could stop them. She wasn’t really one to beg but she needed it so badly right now she was obviously willing to do things she normally wouldn’t do.   
  
“You should really learn to be more patient” Rachel looked up at Santana with a little smirk on her lips. Even as she was lecturing the girl she was enjoying the power she held at her fingertips, literally.   
  
“Rachel! You have your fingers pressed against my pussy, I’m soaking wet, and the group will probably be back any minute. I know you’re new at this but all systems go. It’s like Lesbian 101.”   
  
The mention of the group returning sparked Rachel into action. She had completely forgotten that they could be busted at any moment. Her fingers curled against Santana and pushed inside her with determination.   
  
“Fuck” Santana shouted out as her hips arched up into the touch from Rachel. Discreet was not in the vocabulary at the moment.   
  
It was as if Rachel had done this a thousand times once her fingers were inside Santana. She knew all the places to move her fingers, how deep to push them, and how hard to thrust her wrist up against Santana’s body. There really was no time to explore. It didn’t matter though. Every moan from Santana and every jerk of her hips brought joy to Rachel and she found what she was doing immediately addicting.   
  
Even with though Santana was not complaining, she still felt a little wave of self-consciousness and she whispered softly to the girl “Am I doing it right?”   
  
Santana laughed out in half frustration and half amusement at the question. She felt so good that she almost forgot Rachel had never done this before.   
  
“Fuck, Berry. I’m moaning and thrashing about. I’m drenching your hand and you feel how I keep squeezing around your fingers?” She licked her lips and her eyes rolled back into her head as she let out a throaty groan and her head nodded “Just keep going” She whispered finally.   
  
That was all Rachel needed to hear. Her eyes refocused on where her hand was within Santana’s shorts. She wished she had a full front view, so to speak, she was definitely a visual learner but there was no time for that right now. So she closed her eyes and focused on her fingers. She used her fingertips to guide her, touching and prodding the spots that got the best reaction from the Latina. Every time her hips jerked, Rachel would plunge her fingers right back into that spot. It was as if she were making a map in her mind, memorizing the good and that bad, the right from the wrong.    
  
“Up and in” Santana said softly. She was almost there but she needed a little more. She had so much built up from the night before that she needed that release and needed it badly but Rachel needed to give just a little more for her to get there.   
  
“Like that?” Rachel asked as her fingers curled upward and pushed forcefully against the nerves that were tucked up inside her. The near scream that erupted from Santana told Rachel that she had definitely hit the right spot.    
  
Santana froze for a moment, her hand reaching down quickly to grip against Rachel’s wrist to stop her movement. The suddenness of her fingers finding that sensitive spot had nearly overwhelmed her and for just a brief moment she needed to stop.   
  
“I’m sorry! Did that hurt? Oh my god I am so sorry!” Rachel went into a panic and was trying to remove her hand but Santana’s grip was firm and kept her hand right where it was.    
  
“No” Santana panted quickly, licking her lips as her mouth suddenly turned dry. She shook her head quickly and swallowed as she tried to catch her breath. “It was good. So fucking good. I just needed a moment.” She fell back against the bed now and let go of Rachel’s wrist, nodding quickly “Go. Go now.”   
  
Rachel’s eyes were wide. She was almost not sure if she should continue, not completely sure what had happened. But Santana’s back arched and she urged her on she gave a nod and pushed her fingers into that exact same spot again. This time her touch was brief and she pulled away only to thrust back up and in again. She repeated the short but firm thrusts now as her eyes lifted and she watched Santana now.   
  
It was a perfect rhythm. The short brief stimulation to her g spot over and over again was more than she could handle and after just a moment she felt her stomach tightened so hard she couldn’t breathe. She pulled in a strangled breath and her back arched completely off the bed now as her body froze once more. This time the walls around Rachel’s fingers clenched and clenched tightly as her release took hold. She thrashed her hips up into Rachel’s hand over and over again as she rode the wave of pleasure that was coursing through her every nerve ending.   
  
Rachel watched with wide eyes at the way Santana’s body twitched and jerked. She didn’t remove her hand, her fingers were held so tightly she wasn’t sure if it would hurt her or not to pull them out just yet. Her hand was soaked down to the wrist but she didn’t care. What she was witnessing right now was completely beautiful.

  
Finally Santana’s back fell to the bed once more and she let out a heavy sigh. A shiver went from head to toe and her body that had been so tense now loosened completely as the pleasure subsided. Her heart was thundering wildly in her chest and her body still tingled from head to toe. She lay there on the bed completely spent just trying to catch her breath completely.   
  
Slowly Rachel pulled her hand out and moved quickly over the other girl on the bed. She looked down at her as she came to rest against her side, her hand lying against Santana’s stomach that had a thin layer of sweat upon it. She didn’t say anything; her eyes were transfixed on the features of Santana’s face, trying to read her reaction to everything.   
  
“Shit” Santana finally mumbled her head turning and her eyes coming open as she looked at Rachel. A soft smile came to her lips and a laugh escaped softly “That was worth the wait.”   
  
Rachel let out a laugh of relief at the words. “That was really hot!”   
  
A smirk came to Santana’s lips and she rolled her head against the pillow so she could look to the ceiling “Yeah well it was with me what did you expect?”   
  
Rachel nodded her head and rolled to her back as well, her hands folding to lie against her own stomach. She was quiet for a moment as she reflected on the past twenty four hours. A smile slowly slipped over her lips and she whispered softly without looking over to Santana “I’m glad it was with you.”   
  
Santana didn’t answer. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She had been with more virgins than she could probably count. She had absolutely no feelings attached to any of those conquests, not even Finn. But for some reason the fact that it was Rachel Berry laying beside her now, thanking her, it did something to her she couldn’t quiet explain.   
  
Suddenly noise grew outside the door, the group was returning from breakfast. Santana turned to look in the direction of the door before quickly looking at Rachel. She put a finger to her lips to silently remind her not to make a sound. She reached down and pulled the blanket over the both of them before quickly rolling to her side, her back to Rachel, and pulling a pillow over her head. Her eyes slammed shut and she listened as the door opened and voices filled the room. Her head was thundering now, not out of adrenaline but out of fear.    
  
“I can’t believe they are still asleep. They must have drunk an entire bottle.” Mercedes said with a laugh before moving to her bag now to start gathering her things.   
  
“I’ll wake them up” Brittany said cheerfully before crawling up the bed between Rachel and Santana, plopping down and wrapping her arm around Santana from behind. Santana’s gut twisted and she suddenly felt guilty.    
  
“Did I miss breakfast?” Rachel’s voice, groggy and soft, broke through suddenly as she sat up and pretended she had just been roused from sleep. Damn she really was good.   
  
“Yeah but your dads got you two something for the ride. Hurry up and get dressed we leave in a half hour.” Lauren mumbled as she zipped up her bag and made sure she had all her belongings.   
  
“San” Brittany whispered into her ear, a smile on the blonde girl’s lips as she laid the softest little innocent kiss against her cheek “Wake up it’s time to go home.”   
  
“I’m coming” Santana mumbled softly, sounding sleepy as she opened her eyes and looked at her friend that was snuggled up closely.    
  
“Good morning” Brittany whispered happily, giving her another hug before she slipped from the bed and started to gather her things as well.   
  
“Yeah. Good morning” Santana mumbled, sitting up in bed now. She glanced over her shoulder to where Rachel was digging through her bag to get some clothes. She caught her brown eyes when the diva looked up at her and immediately Rachel smiled. Santana only half smiled. She had no idea how it had happened but she was now smack dab in the middle of a situation she had no idea how to get out of. Maybe if she just slept the entire ride home it would all seem like a dream.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
The ride home had been uneventful. It seemed the entire group was exhausted from the trip and now just wanted to get back home. They all pulled into the Berry residence in the late evening and one by one the kids unpacked their things and called parents for rides home. Puck took Lauren and they left almost right away, same with Kurt taking Sam and Mercedes home. Artie’s dad followed not too far behind to pick up his son. 

Santana sat on the front step on the Berry household wondering why she had not just driven herself over before they left. Then she remembered she had been hanging out with Brittany, helping her pack, and her parents had given her a ride over once the two girls had finished up. Her dad was out of town for a medical conference and her mom had wine night with the ladies that evening, so she was stuck there waiting for Brittany’s parents to come and pick them up.    
  
Brittany was sitting next to Santana, her head on her shoulder, trying not to drift in and out of sleep as Santana slowly rubbed her friend’s arm up and own. The Berry men had dropped the kids off then volunteered to tow the equipment they had borrowed from the high school back and drop it off that evening. They had left shortly after everyone had called their parents for rides, leaving Rachel in charge of making sure everyone got home safely.    
  
Rachel sat on the swing on her porch, pretending to read, but really she was watching the two girls who sat huddled together on her step. There was a sadness that had crept over her since getting back. She knew they had returned to reality, so to speak, that the weekend they had shared together could never leave that hotel. Though she had never expected it to happen, she was glad it had and was now sad that she couldn’t at least have a happy reminder of the events every now and then.   
  
Santana glanced over her shoulder, catching Rachel staring at her. She frowned and looked down to Brittany who rested peacefully against her. “Hey B. I’m going to go pee real quick.” Brittany nodded, giving a little groan as she sat up to let Santana up off the steps. She shifted to lay her head on the railing of the porch as Santana got to her feet.   
  
Santana’s eyes met Rachel and she gave a little flick of her head, silently telling her to follow her before she stepped into the house.   
  
Santana stood just inside the door, waiting for the girl to follow and after a moment Rachel stepped into the house, her eyes wide with questioning when she spotted Santana and pushed the door closed behind her.

  
“Hey look” Santana started, keeping her voice low so Brittany couldn’t over hear. “I know this weekend was crazy. A lot of things happened that I wasn’t expecting.”   
  
“You don’t owe me anything” Rachel said quickly, her arms folding across her chest and she suddenly looked a lot smaller than she ever had before. “No one will ever have to know. We can just pretend it never happened and once school starts you can go back to insulting me and making fun of my clothes.”   
  
Santana frowned at that. She really was a horrible person wasn’t she? She hid behind her own self loathing so much sometimes that she never realized how it affected those around her.    
  
“Listen” Santana finally whispered and her eyes met Rachel’s in a soft and almost vulnerable gaze. “You have helped me in more ways than I could probably ever say. I mean you got me to come out. Sure it was only to you but I did it. One step at a time you know? You got me to be comfortable with myself and face one of my biggest fears. I can’t even say how totally huge that is to me.” She gave a genuine smile but it didn’t last long and it faded as she continued “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. I don’t know if I will ever be brave enough to come out completely in high school. I’m still scared what people will think.”   
  
Rachel wasn’t sure where Santana was going. Her words were sweet but it seemed like a lot of back peddling and she just shook her head a bit “It’s okay Santana. Like I said, you don’t owe me anything.”   
  
“I wanted you to know that it means something to me, though.” Santana said softly, her eyes now locked intently with Rachel and she was searching for that silent understanding so she wouldn’t have to say the words.    
  
Rachel didn’t get it. She understood she was thanking her for her help in bringing her closer to accepting herself and coming out completely but that was where her understanding stopped.   
  
Santana sighed when she saw Rachel struggling to understand. “Something happened alright? Between you and I-“   
  
“Well obviously Santana.” Rachel said with a roll of her eyes   
  
“No, I meant something more than just what happened. Something deeper.”   
  
Rachel nodded slowly, her eyes locked now with Santana’s as she listened intently trying to focus on what the girl was truly saying.   
  
“But I have to figure out what’s going on with Brittany first before anything else can happen.”   
Realization set in at those words. Well, sort of. She understood that Santana was saying it couldn’t happen again but she was also leaving it open that maybe it would someday. At least that’s what Rachel took from it.   
  
“I just want you happy” Rachel said with a smile.   
  
Santana smiled at that, giving a nod as she looked out the window to where Brittany was now standing. Her parents had pulled up now and she was gathering their bags to put in the car.   
  
“So I’ll see you later then?” Rachel asked with a slightly forced smile, reaching to open the door for Santana so she could join her friend.   
  
“Of course.” Santana said with a truthful smile as she stepped to the door. She pushed opened the screen and stepped out, pausing to look back at Rachel “We are family now. You’re stuck with me.”    
  
Rachel laughed at that and finally she understood what Santana was saying. They were intertwined. Whatever happened between her and Brittany, if anything ever happened between herself and Santana again, it would all be alright no matter what. They were family. Maybe a little dysfunctional but what family wasn’t.   
  
Santana smiled once more, giving a silent nod to Rachel before hurrying down the porch to grab her bag. She hurried to the trunk and tossed it in before moving to the back seat and opening the door. Brittany slid in and Santana turned, looking back to Rachel and giving her a little wave before sliding in and shutting the door.   
  
Rachel watched the  car  pull away, two fingers giving a slight wave from where her arms were still folded over her chest. She sighed as the car disappeared from sight before turning and heading back inside. She didn’t know what the rest of the summer held but she knew it was definitely going to be one to remember.


End file.
